The One Hitter – 1993 White Sox

Today starts the 1993 White Sox reunion weekend.  Those of us old enough to remember that season or parts of that season will probably enjoy a nostalgic moment or two throughout the weekend thinking about those White Sox of yesteryear, whether it be the sure dominance of Frank Thomas,

 

the resurgence of Bo Jackson,

the dominant pitching staff which featured 4 home grown studs (Fernandez, Alvarez, McDowell and Bere)

or the other Hall of Famer on this squad, Tim Raines.

You might also remember that this team ran into the juggernaut that was the early 90’s Blue Jays.  For me, I got to thinking about the NEXT White Sox contender.  According to Baseball Reference, the 1993 White Sox had 5 players worth 5 bWAR or more (Frank Thomas 6.2, Lance Johnson 6.1, Alex Fernandez 5.4, Robin Ventura 5.3 & Wilson Alvarez 5.0).  This is pretty consistent with the make up of the good teams in this era as well.  You need 4 or 5 players that fit into the 5bWAR or more category.  Our current White Sox are on pace to have 0 players that fit this categorization (Tim Anderson is on pace for about 4.0 bWAR this season).  I got excited this morning to think about who will be the next crop of players that will fill those slots as highly productive players on the next White Sox division winner.  Will it be current team leader Tim Anderson?

Will Yoan Moncada fulfill his #1 prospect pedigree and become a perennial MVP candidate?

 

Will Michael Kopech be the Ace that our fan base believes he is destined to be?  Will it be someone that isn’t even in the organization yet?

Wilson Alvarez was acquired in trade from the Texas Rangers (in the deal that involved Harold Baines), will someone that the White Sox get back in a future Jose Abreu deal be the kind of player that moves the needle on the next squad?  Lance Johnson was acquired via trade from St Louis (for Jose DeLeon…..fucking Jose DeLeon)….will James Shields or Joakim Soria bring back a player that ends up on the front lines of the White Sox next contender?  Maybe one of these players is about to be DFA’d from his current team, out of chances with some other organization and about to be a part of the White Sox future, but they just don’t fucking know it. Just thinking about the next Great White Sox team has me much like Ellis Redding in Shawshank Redeption, “I find I’m so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head.”