# 1998 Chicago White Sox season

The 1998 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 99th season. They finished with a record of 80–82, good enough for second place in the American League Central, 9 games behind the first place Cleveland Indians.

## Offseason

* December 10, 1997: Charlie O'Brien was signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox.
* January 27, 1998: Howard Battle was signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox.

## Regular season
### Opening Day lineup

* Ray Durham, 2B
* Mike Cameron, CF
* Frank Thomas, DH
* Albert Belle, LF
* Robin Ventura, 3B
* Magglio Ordóñez, RF
* Greg Norton, 1B
* Charlie O'Brien, C
* Mike Caruso, SS
* Jaime Navarro, P

### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Indians | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 46‍–‍35 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Chicago White Sox | 80 | 82 | .494 | 9 | 44‍–‍37 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Kansas City Royals | 72 | 89 | .447 | 16½ | 29‍–‍51 | 43‍–‍38 |
| Minnesota Twins | 70 | 92 | .432 | 19 | 35‍–‍46 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Detroit Tigers | 65 | 97 | .401 | 24 | 32‍–‍49 | 33‍–‍48 |

### Record vs. opponents

1998 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 10–6 |
| Baltimore | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–9 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 5–6 | 7–3 | 3–9 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Boston | 5–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–6 | 8–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 6–5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 4–6–1 | 7–9 |
| Cleveland | 7–4 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 9–2 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 10–6 |
| Detroit | 3–8 | 1–10 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 7–9 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 0–10 | 7–4 | 4–6 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 6–5 | 9–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–6 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| New York | 5–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 10–0 | 7–4 | — | 8–3 | 8–3 | 11–1 | 8–3 | 6–6 | 13–3 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 3–8 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 8–8 |
| Seattle | 3–9 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 6–4 | 9–2 | 3–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| Tampa Bay | 5–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 1–11 | 6–5 | 5–6 | — | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | — | 7–4 | 8–8 |
| Toronto | 7–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–4–1 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 4–7 | — | 9–7 |

### Notable transactions

* May 27, 1998: Jim Abbott signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox.
* June 2, 1998: Aaron Rowand was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (35th pick) of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1998.
* June 2, 1998: Mark Buehrle was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 38th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed May 21, 1999.
* June 7, 1998: Howard Battle was released by the Chicago White Sox.
* July 16, 1998: Jason Bere was released by the Chicago White Sox.
* July 30, 1998: Charlie O'Brien was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the Anaheim Angels for Brian Tokarse (minors) and Jason Stockstill (minors).

### 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 |
| Jeff Abbott, OF | 89 | 244 | 33 | 68 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 41 | 9 | 28 | .279 | 3 |
| James Baldwin, P | 37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Albert Belle, LF | 163 | 609 | 113 | 200 | 48 | 2 | 49 | 152 | 81 | 84 | .328 | 6 |
| Mike Cameron, CF | 141 | 396 | 53 | 83 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 43 | 37 | 101 | .210 | 27 |
| Mike Caruso, SS | 133 | 523 | 81 | 160 | 17 | 6 | 5 | 55 | 14 | 38 | .306 | 22 |
| Carlos Castillo, P | 54 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Wil Cordero, 1B, OF | 96 | 341 | 58 | 91 | 18 | 2 | 13 | 49 | 22 | 66 | .267 | 2 |
| Ray Durham, 2B | 158 | 635 | 126 | 181 | 35 | 8 | 19 | 67 | 73 | 105 | .285 | 36 |
| Scott Eyre, P | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 0 |
| Tom Fordham, P | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Lou Frazier, CF | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .000 | 4 |
| Mark Johnson, C | 7 | 23 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | .087 | 0 |
| Chad Kreuter, C | 93 | 245 | 26 | 62 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 33 | 32 | 45 | .253 | 1 |
| Robert Machado, C | 34 | 111 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 22 | .207 | 0 |
| Jaime Navarro, P | 37 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Greg Norton, 1B, 3B | 105 | 299 | 38 | 71 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 36 | 26 | 77 | .237 | 3 |
| Charlie O'Brien, C | 57 | 164 | 12 | 43 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 31 | .262 | 0 |
| Magglio Ordóñez, RF | 145 | 535 | 70 | 151 | 25 | 2 | 14 | 65 | 28 | 53 | .282 | 9 |
| Jim Parque, P | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Rubén Sierra, OF, DH | 27 | 74 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 11 | .216 | 2 |
| Brian Simmons, OF | 5 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | .368 | 0 |
| Mike Sirotka, P | 33 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Chris Snopek, SS, 2B | 53 | 125 | 17 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 24 | .208 | 3 |
| Frank Thomas, DH, 1B | 160 | 585 | 109 | 155 | 35 | 2 | 29 | 109 | 110 | 93 | .265 | 7 |
| Robin Ventura, 3B | 161 | 590 | 84 | 155 | 31 | 4 | 21 | 91 | 79 | 111 | .263 | 1 |
| Craig Wilson, SS, 2B, 3B | 13 | 47 | 14 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 6 | .468 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 5585 | 861 | 1516 | 291 | 38 | 198 | 806 | 551 | 916 | .271 | 127 |

### 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 |
| Jim Abbott | 5 | 0 | 4.55 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 31.2 | 35 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 14 |
| James Baldwin | 13 | 6 | 5.32 | 37 | 24 | 0 | 159.0 | 176 | 103 | 94 | 18 | 62 | 108 |
| Jason Bere | 3 | 7 | 6.45 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 83.2 | 98 | 71 | 60 | 14 | 58 | 53 |
| Chad Bradford | 2 | 1 | 3.32 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 30.2 | 27 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Larry Casian | 0 | 0 | 11.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Carlos Castillo | 6 | 4 | 5.11 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 100.1 | 94 | 61 | 57 | 17 | 36 | 64 |
| Tony Castillo | 1 | 2 | 8.00 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 | 38 | 25 | 24 | 7 | 11 | 14 |
| Scott Eyre | 3 | 8 | 5.38 | 33 | 17 | 0 | 107.0 | 114 | 78 | 64 | 24 | 64 | 73 |
| Tom Fordham | 1 | 2 | 6.75 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 48.0 | 51 | 36 | 36 | 7 | 42 | 23 |
| Keith Foulke | 3 | 2 | 4.13 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 65.1 | 51 | 31 | 30 | 9 | 23 | 57 |
| Mike Heathcott | 0 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Bob Howry | 0 | 3 | 3.15 | 44 | 0 | 9 | 54.1 | 37 | 20 | 19 | 7 | 21 | 51 |
| Matt Karchner | 2 | 4 | 5.15 | 32 | 0 | 11 | 36.2 | 33 | 21 | 21 | 2 | 25 | 30 |
| Jaime Navarro | 8 | 16 | 6.36 | 37 | 27 | 1 | 172.2 | 223 | 135 | 122 | 30 | 78 | 71 |
| Jim Parque | 7 | 5 | 5.10 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 113.0 | 135 | 72 | 64 | 14 | 49 | 77 |
| Todd Rizzo | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Bill Simas | 4 | 3 | 3.57 | 60 | 0 | 18 | 70.2 | 54 | 29 | 28 | 12 | 26 | 56 |
| Mike Sirotka | 14 | 15 | 5.06 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 211.2 | 255 | 137 | 119 | 30 | 47 | 128 |
| John Snyder | 7 | 2 | 4.80 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 86.1 | 96 | 49 | 46 | 14 | 24 | 52 |
| Bryan Ward | 1 | 2 | 3.33 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 27.0 | 30 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 17 |
| Team Totals | 80 | 82 | 5.22 | 163 | 163 | 42 | 1438.2 | 1569 | 931 | 835 | 211 | 600 | 911 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Calgary Cannons | Pacific Coast League | Tom Spencer |
| AA | Birmingham Barons | Southern League | Dave Huppert |
| A | Winston-Salem Warthogs | Carolina League | Chris Cron |
| A | Hickory Crawdads | South Atlantic League | Mark Haley |
| Rookie | Bristol White Sox | Appalachian League | Nick Capra |
| Rookie | AZL White Sox | Arizona League | Tony Peña |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bristol