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Anthony Ranaudo's escape to South Korea earlier this week reminded me that I hadn't yet looked at how White Sox pitchers fared at the plate in 2016.
This is the year to actually look at it. For all the other disappointments thrown our way, we were gifted with relatively exceptional production from pitchers at the plate. White Sox fans could have stopped expecting any offense from White Sox pitchers after Matt Albers' double ...
... but later in the season, they received the first homer by a White Sox pitcher in seven years when Ranaudo took Jason Hammel deep on July 27.
But that's not all. Chris Sale followed Ranaudo's homer with an infield single off second base, and James Shields contributed an even weaker infield single against the Phillies on Sept. 20.
All in all, White Sox pitchers combined for four hits, which they'd only done for the second time in interleague history. They fell one short of the 1999 White Sox, who went 5-for-22 with a triple (by James Baldwin). Updating the big board from last year's post:
| Year | PA |
AB | R | H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI | BB |
K | SH | BA | OBP | SLG |
| 2011 | 22 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | .2 | .056 | .150 | .111 |
| 2012* | 22 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | .053 | .100 | .053 |
| 2013 | 22 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | .056 | .056 | .056 |
| 2014** | 24 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | .043 | .043 | .043 |
| 2015*** | 23 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | .105 | .105 | .105 |
| 2016 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | .182 | .182 | .364 |
*Removes Dewayne Wise
**Removes Adam Dunn
***Removes Adam LaRoche (who singled) and Alexei Ramirez (who walked)
Despite the surge of output from the position, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon remain on the outside looking in. Quintana went hitless in his two at-bats to extend his career-long drought to 0-for-24 despite a pretty nice swing, while Carlos Rodon is merely 0-for-4 with two sac bunts after going hitless in three tries.
Going back to Ranaudo, he was the first White Sox pitcher to homer since Mark Buehrle in 2009. Albers' double was the first by a White Sox pitcher since ... Mark Buehrle in 2011 (Albers wasn't immediately picked off, though).
What are the other notable lasts?
- Last triple: Baldwin, July 17, 1999
- Last walk: Quintana, June 12, 2012
- Last HBP: Stan Bahnsen, July 8, 1972
- Last stolen base: Kip Wells, July 12, 2001
- Last multi-hit game: Mike Sirotka, June 12, 1999