Today in White Sox History: June 15.

Today in White Sox History: June 15.
A variety of trades

1950
It was just the beginning for him: White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce threw his first one-hitter, one of four in his career. Pierce shut out the Yankees at Comiskey Park, 5-0. The solitary Yankee hit that afternoon came from infielder Billy Johnson, who singled to right in the fifth inning. Pierce struck out seven times in the afternoon. Johnson’s blunder resulted in two of the five unearned runs for the Sox.

In 1958, Jim Wilson and Dick Donovan of the White Sox pitched shutouts against the Orioles during a doubleheader in Baltimore. The Sox won 3-0 and 4-0.

Later that day, the Sox acquired pitcher Bob Shaw as part of a four-player trade with Detroit. Shaw would help the Sox win the pennant in 1959, finishing 18-6 with a 2.69 ERA.

Shaw started the season in the bullpen, working with Sox pitching coach Ray Berres. After some adjustments, he was granted a start in Boston and shut out the Red Sox 5-0. Shaw thereafter became a mainstay in the starting rotation, and he finished the season by defeating Sandy Koufax in a 1-0 World Series game against the Dodgers at the Coliseum.

1967
Ken Berry’s hit streak now stands at 20 games after going 2-for-4 in a 2-1 walk-off loss at Fenway Park. At the time, this equaled the centre fielder for the ninth-longest hit streak in White Sox history.

Berry went 0-for-3 in the next Sox game, a 1-0 victory over the Yankees at Comiskey Park, so there was no need for a huge countdown.

Berry hit.354 during his streak (which began on May 28), with five extra-base hits out of 29 total. The White Sox, who had been in first place or close for most of the run, went 9-11. And Berry was caught stealing four out of five times during his hitting streak!

Berry’s streak is currently tied for the 16th-longest in franchise history.

On this day, the White Sox traded centre fielder Ed Stroud to Washington for right fielder Jim King. King struggled with the pennant-chasing White Sox before being traded six weeks later for Rocky Colavito. Stroud had three more seasons with the Senators, including a standout 1970 season, before returning to the White Sox in 1971.

1975
Roland Hemond, the White Sox’s general manager, made a move at the trading deadline that shown exceptional forethought. Hemond sent pitcher Stan Bahnsen (who never regained his 1972 form) to the Athletics for pitcher Dave Hamilton and prospect Chet Lemon.

Hamilton saved 25 games for the White Sox, won 16 more, and never had an ERA higher than 3.61. Lemon went on to represent the Sox in two All-Star Games and became one of baseball’s top centre fielders. Offensively, he topped the league in 1979 with 44 doubles. Lemon would hit 278 extra-base hits and drive in 347 runs throughout the course of his six years with the Sox. His ability to cover ground, particularly at the expansive Comiskey Park, was unparalleled in the league.

On this day, the White Sox traded first baseman Tony Muser to Baltimore for pitcher Jesse Jefferson. Muser finished 1975 reasonably well with the Orioles, but he was a negative-WAR player for the remainder of his career. Jefferson finished 1975 in the White Sox rotation at replacement level, then served as a swingman in 1976 and had the worst pitching season in White Sox history (-2.4 WAR); oddly, he was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the expansion draft heading into 1977 and put up 4.3 WAR in 63 starts in 1977-78.

1979
With the White Sox in a rut, general manager Roland Hemond began to consider the future. He transferred third baseman Eric Soderholm to the Rangers for two players, one of them being Ed Farmer, a Chicago native. The following year, Farmer made the All-Star team, recorded 30 saves, and established himself as a top closer.

Farmer saved 54 games and won 13 throughout his three seasons with the club. Following his playing career, he returned to the Sox as a commentator in 1992, where he remained until his death in April 2020.

In 1983, White Sox General Manager Roland Hemond traded for Mariners second baseman Julio “Juice” Cruz in exchange for Tony Bernazard. Cruz energised the bottom half of the order, stole 24 bases, drove in 40 runs, and played outstanding defence, helping the Sox go on a tear and win the Western Division by a then-record 20 games over second-place Kansas City.

White Sox vs Marlins
No video was discovered, but here’s a photo of Carlos Lee setting the all-time White Sox hit streak record.

2004
Carlos Lee, who is tied with Luke Appling (1936) and Albert Belle (1997) for the longest hitting streak (27 games) in White Sox history, went nine innings without a single against the Florida Marlins… fortunately for El Caballo, the game was knotted 5-5! Lee doubled in the top of the tenth inning and came home on Miguel Olivo’s bases-loaded walk, helping Chicago win 7-5.

The next day, at Miami, Lee went 0-for-4, ending his hitting streak. However, his 28-game hitting streak still holds the franchise record, with 45 hits (equaling his jersey number) and a.381/.413/.500 batting average, 11 doubles and 22 RBIs. Oddly, Lee only hit one home run during the streak.