page_title: History of the Chicago White Sox
section_title: 1983: "Winning Ugly"
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Chicago White Sox / 1982–2004: The early Reinsdorf era / 1983: "Winning Ugly"
caption_attribution_description: This photo was taken by user dlz28 and is released into the public domain. 17:32, 1 May 2006 . . Dlz28 . . 198×304 (12 KB)
context_page_description: The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team based on the South Side of Chicago. They are one of eight charter members of the American League, having played in Chicago since the inaugural 1901 season. They have won six American League pennants and three World Series titles, most recently in 2005. Despite long periods of mediocrity, the White Sox have among the most unusual, challenging, and celebrated histories of any Major League franchise.
context_section_description: In 1983, the White Sox enjoyed their best success in a generation. After a mediocre first half, the White Sox decided that they needed speed at the top of the lineup. The Sox traded second baseman Tony Bernazard to the Mariners for Julio Cruz. With Cruz's speed, they went 60–25 to close out the season, clinching the AL West title, which earned Manager Tony La Russa his first Manager of the Year award.
  Doug Rader, then-manager of the Texas Rangers, derisively accused the team of "winning ugly" for their style of play, which reflected a tendency to win games through scrappy play rather than strong hitting or pitching. Rader also thought that if the White Sox played in the Eastern Division, they would finish fifth behind powerhouses such as Baltimore, New York, and Milwaukee. Chicago media and White Sox fans picked up on the phrase, and turned "Winning Ugly" into the team slogan. While they had a great run in the regular season, they were not able to carry that over into the postseason as they lost to a powerful Baltimore Orioles team three games to one in the AL Championship Series. LaMarr Hoyt led the White Sox to a 2–1 victory in Game 1, but the Orioles clinched the series with a 3–0 ten-inning victory in Game 4. White Sox pitcher Burns pitched a "gutsy" game, throwing 9⅓ shutout innings before a home run by Tito Landrum broke up the game and the hearts of the South Side faithful.
  The 1984 season was remembered for two games at Comiskey, one bad (Jack Morris throwing a no-hitter for the Tigers in a nationally televised game) and one good (a 25-inning victory over the Brewers, a game which took eight hours, six minutes over two days and is still the longest in American League history by innings and time) for the White Sox.
caption: Harold Baines, one of the White Sox's franchise players throughout the 1980s, became one of the organization's all-time top hitting leaders during his 14 seasons in Chicago
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