# 1989 Chicago White Sox season

The 1989 Chicago White Sox season was the White Sox's 90th season. They finished with a record of 69–92, anchoring them to the cellar (seventh place) of the American League West, 29.5 games behind the first place Oakland Athletics.

## Offseason
### Potential move to Florida

In July 1988, legislators from the State of Illinois narrowly approved a proposal for a new state-financed stadium and a lease deal that would save the team $60 million and kept the White Sox from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida. St. Petersburg had begun construction on an $80 million domed stadium.
The club's principal owners, Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, had said the team would move to St. Petersburg, Florida, for the 1989 season if the stadium proposal were not approved.
The state Senate in Springfield passed the stadium bill by a 30-26 vote about 20 minutes before midnight, then sent it on to the General Assembly, where Gov. James Thompson was involved in political maneuvering on the last day the legislature was in session.
The money for the ball park would come from a 2 percent city hotel-motel tax, estimated to be worth at least $8 million a year. The city would add $5 million annually in revenue-sharing funds, and the state would contribute $5 million in hotel-motel tax revenues.

### Notable transactions

* December 5, 1988: Rich Amaral was drafted by the White Sox from the Chicago Cubs in the 1988 rule 5 draft.
* December 12, 1988: Mike Diaz was released by the White Sox.
* February 10, 1989: Jerry Willard was signed as a free agent with the White Sox.
* March 23, 1989: Kenny Williams was traded by the White Sox to the Detroit Tigers for Eric King.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Oakland Athletics | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 54‍–‍27 | 45‍–‍36 |
| Kansas City Royals | 92 | 70 | .568 | 7 | 55‍–‍26 | 37‍–‍44 |
| California Angels | 91 | 71 | .562 | 8 | 52‍–‍29 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Texas Rangers | 83 | 79 | .512 | 16 | 45‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Minnesota Twins | 80 | 82 | .494 | 19 | 45‍–‍36 | 35‍–‍46 |
| Seattle Mariners | 73 | 89 | .451 | 26 | 40‍–‍41 | 33‍–‍48 |
| Chicago White Sox | 69 | 92 | .429 | 29½ | 35‍–‍45 | 34‍–‍47 |

### Record vs. opponents

1989 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 |
| Boston | 7–6 | — | 4–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| California | 6–6 | 8–4 | — | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–8 | — | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 10–2 | 5–8 | 5–6 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 1–11 |
| Cleveland | 6–7 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 5–7 | — | 5–8 | 8–4 | 3–10 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 2–10 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–8 |
| Detroit | 3–10 | 2–11 | 1–11 | 8–4 | 8–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 2–11 |
| Kansas City | 6–6 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 7–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 8–4 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Milwaukee | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 2–10 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 4–8 | — | 9–3 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 6–7 |
| Minnesota | 8–4 | 6–6 | 2–11 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 9–3 |
| New York | 5–8 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 4–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | — | 3–9 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–6 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 5–7 | 8–5 | 8–5 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Seattle | 6–6 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–9 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 3–9 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 5–7 |
| Toronto | 6–7 | 8–5 | 5–7 | 11–1 | 8–5 | 11–2 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 7–5 | — |

### 1989 Opening Day lineup

* Ozzie Guillén, SS
* Dave Gallagher, CF
* Harold Baines, DH
* Iván Calderón, RF
* Greg Walker, 1B
* Carlton Fisk, C
* Dan Pasqua, LF
* Steve Lyons, 2B
* Eddie Williams, 3B
* Jerry Reuss, P

### Notable transactions

* May 8, 1989: Domingo Jean was signed as an amateur free agent by the White Sox.
* June 5, 1989: Frank Thomas was selected by the White Sox in the 1st round (7th pick) of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft.
* July 1, 1989: Richard Dotson was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.
* July 29, 1989: Harold Baines and Fred Manrique were traded by the White Sox to the Texas Rangers for Sammy Sosa, Wilson Álvarez, and Scott Fletcher.

### 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 |
| Harold Baines, DH, RF | 96 | 333 | 55 | 107 | 20 | 1 | 13 | 56 | 60 | 52 | .321 | 0 |
| Daryl Boston, OF | 101 | 218 | 34 | 55 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 24 | 31 | .252 | 7 |
| Iván Calderón, OF, DH, 1B | 157 | 622 | 83 | 178 | 34 | 9 | 14 | 87 | 43 | 94 | .286 | 7 |
| Carlton Fisk, C | 103 | 375 | 47 | 110 | 25 | 2 | 13 | 68 | 36 | 60 | .293 | 1 |
| Scott Fletcher, 2B, SS | 59 | 232 | 30 | 63 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 26 | 19 | .272 | 1 |
| Dave Gallagher, OF | 161 | 601 | 74 | 160 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 46 | 46 | 79 | .266 | 5 |
| Ozzie Guillén, SS | 155 | 597 | 63 | 151 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 54 | 15 | 48 | .253 | 36 |
| Jerry Hairston, PH | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | 0 |
| Lance Johnson, OF | 50 | 180 | 28 | 54 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 17 | 24 | .300 | 16 |
| Ron Karkovice, C | 71 | 182 | 21 | 48 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 10 | 56 | .264 | 0 |
| Ron Kittle, 1B, DH, LF | 51 | 169 | 26 | 51 | 10 | 0 | 11 | 37 | 22 | 42 | .302 | 0 |
| Steve Lyons, 2B, 1B, 3B, OF | 140 | 443 | 51 | 117 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 50 | 35 | 68 | .264 | 9 |
| Fred Manrique, 2B | 65 | 187 | 23 | 56 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 30 | .299 | 0 |
| Carlos Martinez, 3B, 1B, LF | 109 | 350 | 44 | 105 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 32 | 21 | 57 | .300 | 4 |
| Matt Merullo, C | 31 | 81 | 5 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 14 | .222 | 0 |
| Russ Morman, 1B | 37 | 58 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 16 | .224 | 1 |
| Dan Pasqua, OF, DH | 73 | 246 | 26 | 61 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 47 | 25 | 58 | .248 | 1 |
| Billy Jo Robidoux, 1B | 16 | 39 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | .128 | 0 |
| Jeff Schaefer, SS, 2B, 3B | 15 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .100 | 1 |
| Sammy Sosa, OF | 33 | 99 | 19 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 27 | .273 | 7 |
| Robin Ventura, 3B | 16 | 45 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 6 | .178 | 0 |
| Greg Walker, 1B, DH | 77 | 233 | 25 | 49 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 23 | 50 | .210 | 0 |
| Eddie Williams, 3B | 66 | 201 | 25 | 55 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 31 | .274 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 161 | 5504 | 693 | 1493 | 262 | 36 | 94 | 661 | 464 | 873 | .271 | 97 |

### 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 |
| Jeff Bittiger | 0 | 1 | 6.52 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.2 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Wayne Edwards | 0 | 0 | 3.68 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| John Davis | 0 | 1 | 4.50 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6.0 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Richard Dotson | 3 | 7 | 3.88 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 99.2 | 112 | 51 | 43 | 8 | 44 | 55 |
| Jack Hardy | 0 | 0 | 6.57 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12.1 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Greg Hibbard | 6 | 7 | 3.21 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 137.1 | 142 | 58 | 49 | 5 | 41 | 55 |
| Shawn Hillegas | 7 | 11 | 4.74 | 50 | 13 | 3 | 119.2 | 132 | 67 | 63 | 12 | 55 | 76 |
| Barry Jones | 3 | 2 | 2.37 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 30.1 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 17 |
| Eric King | 9 | 10 | 3.39 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 159.1 | 144 | 69 | 60 | 13 | 65 | 72 |
| Bill Long | 5 | 5 | 3.92 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 98.2 | 101 | 49 | 43 | 8 | 37 | 51 |
| Tom McCarthy | 1 | 2 | 3.51 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 66.2 | 72 | 32 | 26 | 8 | 20 | 27 |
| Donn Pall | 4 | 5 | 3.31 | 53 | 0 | 6 | 87.0 | 90 | 35 | 32 | 9 | 22 | 58 |
| Ken Patterson | 6 | 1 | 4.52 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 65.2 | 64 | 37 | 33 | 11 | 31 | 43 |
| Mélido Pérez | 11 | 14 | 5.01 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 183.1 | 187 | 106 | 102 | 23 | 93 | 141 |
| Adam Peterson | 0 | 1 | 15.19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5.1 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jerry Reuss | 8 | 5 | 5.06 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 106.2 | 135 | 65 | 60 | 12 | 22 | 27 |
| Steve Rosenberg | 4 | 13 | 4.94 | 38 | 21 | 0 | 142.0 | 148 | 92 | 78 | 14 | 59 | 77 |
| Jose Segura | 0 | 1 | 15.00 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Bobby Thigpen | 2 | 6 | 3.76 | 61 | 0 | 34 | 79.0 | 62 | 34 | 33 | 10 | 43 | 47 |
| Team Totals | 69 | 92 | 4.23 | 161 | 161 | 46 | 1422.0 | 1472 | 750 | 668 | 144 | 552 | 778 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Vancouver Canadians | Pacific Coast League | Marv Foley |
| AA | Birmingham Barons | Southern League | Ken Berry |
| A | Sarasota White Sox | Florida State League | Tony Franklin |
| A | South Bend White Sox | Midwest League | Rick Patterson |
| A-Short Season | Utica Blue Sox | New York–Penn League | Ron Vaughn |
| Rookie | GCL White Sox | Gulf Coast League | Ed Pebley |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Vancouver, Birmingham, South Bend