# 1956 Chicago White Sox season

The 1956 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 56th season in the major leagues, and its 57th season overall. They finished with a record of 85–69, good enough for third place in the American League, 12 games behind the first place New York Yankees.

## Offseason

* October 25, 1955: Chico Carrasquel and Jim Busby were traded by the White Sox to the Cleveland Indians for Larry Doby.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 97 | 57 | .630 | — | 49‍–‍28 | 48‍–‍29 |
| Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66 | .571 | 9 | 46‍–‍31 | 42‍–‍35 |
| Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69 | .552 | 12 | 46‍–‍31 | 39‍–‍38 |
| Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70 | .545 | 13 | 43‍–‍34 | 41‍–‍36 |
| Detroit Tigers | 82 | 72 | .532 | 15 | 37‍–‍40 | 45‍–‍32 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 85 | .448 | 28 | 41‍–‍36 | 28‍–‍49 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 95 | .383 | 38 | 32‍–‍45 | 27‍–‍50 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 52 | 102 | .338 | 45 | 22‍–‍55 | 30‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1956 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | NYY | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 6–16 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 9–13 | 12–10 |
| Boston | 16–6 | — | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13 |
| Chicago | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 13–9 |
| Cleveland | 17–5 | 9–13–1 | 7–15 | — | 11–11 | 17–5 | 10–12 | 17–5 |
| Detroit | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 11–11 | — | 16–6 | 12–10 | 15–7–1 |
| Kansas City | 7–15 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 4–18 | 12–10 |
| New York | 13–9 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 18–4 | — | 17–5 |
| Washington | 10–12 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 7–15–1 | 10–12 | 5–17 | — |

### Opening Day lineup

* Jim Rivera, RF
* Nellie Fox, 2B
* Larry Doby, CF
* Bob Kennedy, 3B
* Minnie Miñoso, LF
* Sherm Lollar, C
* Walt Dropo, 1B
* Luis Aparicio, SS
* Billy Pierce, P

### Notable transactions

* April 16, 1956: Carl Sawatski was purchased from the White Sox by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
* May 15, 1956: Jim Brideweser, Harry Byrd and Bob Kennedy were traded by the White Sox to the Detroit Tigers for Jim Delsing and Fred Hatfield.
* May 21, 1956: Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson, George Kell and Bob Nieman were traded by the White Sox to the Baltimore Orioles for Dave Philley and Jim Wilson.
* May 28, 1956: Gerry Staley was selected off waivers by the White Sox from the New York Yankees.
* July 13, 1956: Morrie Martin was selected off waivers from the White Sox by the Baltimore Orioles.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; BB = Base on balls; SO = Strikeouts; AVG = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Cal Abrams, OF | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .333 | 0 |
| Luis Aparicio, SS | 152 | 533 | 69 | 142 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 34 | 63 | .266 | 21 |
| Earl Battey, C | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .250 | 0 |
| Jim Brideweser, SS | 10 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .182 | 0 |
| Jim Delsing, OF | 55 | 41 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 13 | .122 | 1 |
| Larry Doby, CF | 140 | 504 | 89 | 135 | 22 | 3 | 24 | 102 | 102 | 105 | .268 | 0 |
| Walt Dropo, 1B | 125 | 361 | 42 | 96 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 37 | 51 | .266 | 1 |
| Sammy Esposito, 3B,SS | 81 | 184 | 30 | 42 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 41 | 19 | .228 | 1 |
| Nellie Fox, 2B | 154 | 649 | 109 | 192 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 52 | 44 | 14 | .296 | 8 |
| Fred Hatfield, 3B | 106 | 321 | 46 | 84 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 37 | 36 | .262 | 1 |
| Ron Jackson, 1B | 22 | 56 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 13 | .214 | 1 |
| George Kell, 3B,1B | 21 | 80 | 7 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 6 | .313 | 0 |
| Bob Kennedy, 3B | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .077 | 0 |
| Sherm Lollar, C | 136 | 450 | 55 | 132 | 28 | 2 | 11 | 75 | 53 | 34 | .293 | 2 |
| Minnie Miñoso, LF | 151 | 545 | 106 | 172 | 29 | 11 | 21 | 88 | 86 | 40 | .316 | 12 |
| Les Moss, C | 56 | 127 | 20 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 22 | 18 | 15 | .244 | 0 |
| Bob Nieman, RF | 14 | 40 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | .300 | 0 |
| Ron Northey, OF | 53 | 48 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 8 | 1 | .354 | 0 |
| Dave Philley, 1B,RF,LF | 86 | 279 | 44 | 74 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 47 | 28 | 27 | .265 | 1 |
| Bubba Phillips, OF | 67 | 99 | 16 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 12 | .273 | 1 |
| Jim Rivera, RF,CF | 139 | 491 | 76 | 125 | 23 | 5 | 12 | 66 | 49 | 75 | .255 | 20 |
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Harry Byrd, P | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Sandy Consuegra, P | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 0 |
| Jim Derrington, P | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 0 |
| Dick Donovan, P | 44 | 90 | 10 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 30 | .222 | 0 |
| Mike Fornieles, P | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | 0 |
| Jack Harshman, P | 36 | 71 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 11 | 21 | .169 | 0 |
| Dixie Howell, P | 34 | 17 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | .235 | 0 |
| Connie Johnson, P | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Bob Keegan, P | 20 | 32 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | .125 | 0 |
| Ellis Kinder, P | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Paul LaPalme, P | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Morrie Martin, P | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .200 | 0 |
| Jim McDonald, P | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Billy Pierce, P | 39 | 102 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 | .157 | 0 |
| Howie Pollet, P | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .375 | 0 |
| Gerry Staley, P | 26 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | .094 | 0 |
| Jim Wilson, P | 28 | 62 | 6 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 13 | .306 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 154 | 5286 | 776 | 1412 | 218 | 43 | 128 | 726 | 619 | 658 | .267 | 70 |

### Pitching

Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; HR = Home runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts
| Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | K |
| Harry Byrd | 0 | 1 | 10.38 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4.1 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Sandy Consuegra | 1 | 2 | 5.17 | 28 | 1 | 3 | 38.1 | 45 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 14 | 7 |
| Jerry Dahlke | 0 | 0 | 19.29 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Jim Derrington | 0 | 1 | 7.50 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Dick Donovan | 12 | 10 | 3.64 | 34 | 31 | 0 | 234.2 | 212 | 99 | 95 | 22 | 95 | 120 |
| Bill Fischer | 0 | 0 | 21.60 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mike Fornieles | 0 | 1 | 4.60 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Jack Harshman | 15 | 11 | 3.10 | 34 | 30 | 0 | 226.2 | 183 | 85 | 78 | 14 | 106 | 143 |
| Dixie Howell | 5 | 6 | 4.62 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 64.1 | 79 | 39 | 33 | 3 | 46 | 28 |
| Connie Johnson | 0 | 1 | 3.65 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12.1 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| Bob Keegan | 5 | 7 | 3.93 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 105.1 | 119 | 56 | 46 | 15 | 37 | 32 |
| Ellis Kinder | 3 | 1 | 2.73 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 29.2 | 33 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 19 |
| Paul LaPalme | 3 | 1 | 2.36 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 45.2 | 31 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 29 | 23 |
| Dick Marlowe | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Morrie Martin | 1 | 0 | 4.91 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 18.1 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| Jim McDonald | 0 | 2 | 8.68 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 18.2 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 10 |
| Billy Pierce | 20 | 9 | 3.32 | 35 | 33 | 1 | 276.1 | 261 | 108 | 102 | 24 | 107 | 192 |
| Howie Pollet | 3 | 1 | 4.10 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 26.1 | 27 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 11 | 14 |
| Gerry Staley | 8 | 3 | 2.92 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 101.2 | 98 | 37 | 33 | 11 | 23 | 25 |
| Jim Wilson | 9 | 12 | 4.06 | 28 | 21 | 0 | 159.2 | 149 | 82 | 72 | 15 | 75 | 82 |
| Team Totals | 85 | 69 | 3.73 | 154 | 154 | 13 | 1389.0 | 1351 | 634 | 575 | 118 | 567 | 722 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AA | Memphis Chicks | Southern Association | Jack Cassini and Don Griffin |
| A | Colorado Springs Sky Sox | Western League | Jack Conway |
| B | Waterloo White Hawks | Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League | Ira Hutchinson |
| C | Duluth-Superior White Sox | Northern League | Joe Hauser |
| D | Dubuque Packers | Midwest League | George Noga |
| D | Holdrege White Sox | Nebraska State League | Skeeter Scalzi |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Duluth-Superior