# 1964 Chicago White Sox season

The 1964 Chicago White Sox season was the team's 64th season in the major leagues, and its 65th season overall. They finished with a record of 98–64, good enough for second place in the American League, just one game behind the first-place New York Yankees.

## Offseason

* December 2, 1963: Rudy May was drafted by the White Sox from the Minnesota Twins in the 1963 first-year draft.
* February 25, 1964: Jim Brosnan was released by the White Sox.
* March 18, 1964: Don Mossi was purchased by the White Sox from the Detroit Tigers.

## Regular season
### Notable transactions

* April 8, 1964: Minnie Miñoso was signed as a free agent by the White Sox.
* April 23, 1964: Charley Smith was traded by the White Sox to the New York Mets for Chico Fernández, Bobby Catton (minors), and cash.
* July 13, 1964: Joe Cunningham and a player to be named later were traded by the White Sox to the Washington Senators for Bill Skowron and Carl Bouldin. The White Sox completed the deal by sending Frank Kreutzer to the Senators on July 28.
* July 17, 1964: Minnie Miñoso was released by the White Sox.

### Opening Day lineup

* Jim Landis, CF
* Don Buford, 2B
* Floyd Robinson, RF
* Dave Nicholson, LF
* Joe Cunningham, 1B
* Ron Hansen, SS
* Charley Smith, 3B
* J. C. Martin, C
* Gary Peters, P
The White Sox could have won the American League flag in 1964. That year saw a great pennant race in the American League, with the New York Yankees finishing first by winning 99 games, the Sox only one game behind with 98, and the Baltimore Orioles third with 97, only one game behind the Sox.
A key statistic is that the Sox were a woeful 6-12 against the Yankees that year, so literally if the Sox had just won one of those 12 losses against the Bombers, the Sox would have finished first.
A 4-3 loss on June 14 could have been that victory, as the Sox were up 3-1 at Yankee Stadium in the ninth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, but the Yanks made a comeback and won in the tenth inning with future Hall of Fame reliever Hoyt Wilhelm taking the loss in relief. In the first game, Sox star pitcher Juan Pizarro was expected to beat Yankee bottom of the barrel spot-starter and journeyman Bud Daley, but the Yanks won that one, too.
Another heartbreaker was a 1-0 loss to the Yankees on June 20, a game that had been scoreless until the 11th inning, when the New Yorkers finally pushed a run across when with two outs, Elston Howard drove in Pedro Gonzales, who was pinch running for Mickey Mantle.
Then the very next day, the Sox lost to the Yankees again 2-1 in a game that went an incredible 17 innings.
A day later, the Sox lost another one-run game to the Yanks. This time the Sox scored five runs, but ended up losing 6-5. Any one of those games could have been a pennant-winning victory.
The Sox were generally a light-hitting club, with a team batting average of .247, good only for sixth in the ten-team American League. But their pitching was great. They ranked first in the league in shutouts, walks, and in fewest hits, runs, earned runs, and walks given up.
Outfielder Jim Landis, a veteran of the 1959 pennant winners, said that there was even more of a feeling on the 1964 club than on the 1959 club that the Sox were going to win, because the '64 squad had better pitching.
The Sox were in first place as late as September 6, and only ½ game back two weeks before the end of the season before the Yanks made their move. The Sox had a strong September at 18-10, but the Yanks were even better, winning 21 of 25.

### Season standings

vteAmerican League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 99 | 63 | .611 | — | 50‍–‍31 | 49‍–‍32 |
| Chicago White Sox | 98 | 64 | .605 | 1 | 52‍–‍29 | 46‍–‍35 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 65 | .599 | 2 | 49‍–‍32 | 48‍–‍33 |
| Detroit Tigers | 85 | 77 | .525 | 14 | 46‍–‍35 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 82 | 80 | .506 | 17 | 45‍–‍36 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Cleveland Indians | 79 | 83 | .488 | 20 | 41‍–‍40 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Minnesota Twins | 79 | 83 | .488 | 20 | 40‍–‍41 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 72 | 90 | .444 | 27 | 45‍–‍36 | 27‍–‍54 |
| Washington Senators | 62 | 100 | .383 | 37 | 31‍–‍50 | 31‍–‍50 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 57 | 105 | .352 | 42 | 26‍–‍55 | 31‍–‍50 |

### Record vs. opponents

1964 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 13–5–1 | 11–7 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 13–5 |
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 4–14 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 12–6 |
| Chicago | 8–10 | 14–4 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 16–2 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 12–6 |
| Cleveland | 10–8 | 9–9 | 6–12 | — | 11–7 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 10–8–1 | 3–15–1 | 11–7 |
| Detroit | 7–11 | 13–5 | 7–11 | 7–11 | — | 11–7 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 8–10–1 | 11–7 |
| Kansas City | 5–13–1 | 6–12 | 2–16 | 8–10 | 7–11 | — | 6–12 | 9–9 | 6–12 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 7–11 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 12–6 | 7–11 | 10–8 |
| Minnesota | 8–10 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 8–10–1 | 7–11 | 9–9 | 6–12 | — | 8–10 | 11–7 |
| New York | 8–10 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 15–3–1 | 10–8–1 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 10–8 | — | 12–6 |
| Washington | 5–13 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 6–12 | — |

### 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 |
| Ken Berry, CF | 12 | 32 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | .375 | 0 |
| Don Buford, 2B,3B | 135 | 442 | 62 | 116 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 46 | 62 | .262 | 12 |
| Smoky Burgess, PH | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| Cam Carreon, C | 37 | 95 | 12 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 13 | .274 | 0 |
| Joe Cunningham, 1B | 40 | 108 | 13 | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 15 | .250 | 0 |
| Ron Hansen, SS | 158 | 575 | 85 | 150 | 25 | 3 | 20 | 68 | 73 | 73 | .261 | 1 |
| Mike Hershberger, RF, CF | 141 | 452 | 55 | 104 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 31 | 48 | 47 | .230 | 8 |
| Jim Hicks, PR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Dick Kenworthy, PH | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 |
| Jim Landis, CF | 106 | 298 | 30 | 62 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 36 | 64 | .208 | 5 |
| Jeoff Long, LF,1B | 23 | 35 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 15 | .143 | 0 |
| J. C. Martin, C | 122 | 294 | 23 | 58 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 16 | 30 | .197 | 0 |
| Charlie Maxwell, PH | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |
| Tommy McCraw, 1B, OF | 125 | 368 | 47 | 96 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 32 | 65 | .261 | 15 |
| Jerry McNertney, C | 73 | 186 | 16 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 19 | 24 | .215 | 0 |
| Minnie Miñoso, LF | 30 | 31 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | .226 | 0 |
| Dave Nicholson, LF | 97 | 294 | 40 | 60 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 39 | 52 | 126 | .204 | 0 |
| Floyd Robinson, RF, LF | 141 | 525 | 83 | 158 | 17 | 3 | 11 | 59 | 70 | 41 | .301 | 9 |
| Bill Skowron, 1B | 73 | 273 | 19 | 80 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 38 | 19 | 36 | .293 | 0 |
| Charley Smith, 3B | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .143 | 0 |
| Marv Staehle, PH | 6 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .400 | 1 |
| Gene Stephens, OF | 82 | 141 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 21 | 28 | .234 | 1 |
| Pete Ward, 3B | 144 | 539 | 61 | 152 | 28 | 3 | 23 | 94 | 56 | 76 | .282 | 1 |
| Al Weis, 2B, SS | 133 | 328 | 36 | 81 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 22 | 41 | .247 | 22 |
| Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | SB |
| Fritz Ackley, P | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 |
| Frank Baumann, P | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 |
| John Buzhardt, P | 31 | 54 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 22 | .204 | 0 |
| Eddie Fisher, P | 59 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | .167 | 0 |
| Ray Herbert, P | 20 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | .139 | 0 |
| Joe Horlen, P | 32 | 69 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 11 | .159 | 0 |
| Bruce Howard, P | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | 0 |
| Frank Kreutzer, P | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .125 | 0 |
| Don Mossi, P | 34 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 | 0 |
| Gary Peters, P | 54 | 120 | 9 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 29 | .208 | 0 |
| Juan Pizarro, P | 33 | 90 | 6 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 34 | .211 | 0 |
| Fred Talbot, P | 18 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | .263 | 0 |
| Hoyt Wilhelm, P | 73 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | .143 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 162 | 5491 | 642 | 1356 | 184 | 40 | 106 | 586 | 562 | 902 | .247 | 75 |

### 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 |
| Fritz Ackley | 0 | 0 | 8.53 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6.1 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Frank Baumann | 0 | 3 | 6.19 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 32.0 | 40 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 24 | 19 |
| John Buzhardt | 10 | 8 | 2.98 | 31 | 25 | 0 | 160.0 | 150 | 60 | 53 | 13 | 39 | 97 |
| Eddie Fisher | 6 | 3 | 3.02 | 59 | 2 | 9 | 125.0 | 86 | 43 | 42 | 13 | 35 | 74 |
| Ray Herbert | 6 | 7 | 3.47 | 20 | 19 | 0 | 111.2 | 117 | 50 | 43 | 14 | 19 | 40 |
| Joe Horlen | 13 | 9 | 1.88 | 32 | 28 | 0 | 210.2 | 142 | 54 | 44 | 11 | 59 | 138 |
| Bruce Howard | 2 | 1 | 0.81 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22.1 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 17 |
| Frank Kreutzer | 3 | 1 | 3.35 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 40.1 | 37 | 15 | 15 | 1 | 21 | 32 |
| Don Mossi | 3 | 1 | 2.93 | 34 | 0 | 7 | 40.0 | 37 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 36 |
| Gary Peters | 20 | 8 | 2.50 | 37 | 36 | 0 | 273.2 | 217 | 89 | 76 | 20 | 113 | 205 |
| Juan Pizarro | 19 | 9 | 2.56 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 239.0 | 193 | 78 | 68 | 23 | 60 | 162 |
| Fred Talbot | 4 | 5 | 3.70 | 17 | 12 | 0 | 75.1 | 83 | 31 | 31 | 7 | 20 | 34 |
| Hoyt Wilhelm | 12 | 9 | 1.99 | 73 | 0 | 27 | 131.1 | 94 | 35 | 29 | 7 | 31 | 95 |
| Team Totals | 98 | 64 | 2.72 | 162 | 162 | 45 | 1467.2 | 1216 | 501 | 444 | 124 | 443 | 955 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Indianapolis Indians | Pacific Coast League | Les Moss |
| AA | Lynchburg White Sox | Southern League | George Noga |
| A | Tidewater Tides | Carolina League | Allen Jones |
| A | Sarasota Sun Sox | Florida State League | Ira Hutchinson |
| A | Clinton C-Sox | Midwest League | Don Bacon and Hugh Mulcahy |
| Rookie | SRL White Sox | Sarasota Rookie League | Frank Parenti |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lynchburg