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2005
So ... who needs scouts?
(just joking ...)
White Sox GM Ken Williams signed Japanese second baseman Tadahito Iguchi after scouting him solely by watching video tape on him. Iguchi turned into a very solid second baseman and second hitter in the White Sox lineup, delivering defense, home runs and RBIs to a team that would go on to take the World Series.
Iguchi’s three-run home run in Game 2 of the 2005 ALDS turned that game around and gave the Sox a commanding, two-game lead in the best-of-five series.
The following year, Iguchi’s single in the 19th inning on July 9 beat the Red Sox, 6-5. That game was tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history.
And on April 15, 2006, Iguchi turned in one of the most incredible defensive plays in major league history, throwing out Toronto’s Bengie Molina in the ninth inning of a 4-2 White Sox win: Iguchi threw the ball to first base while sailing horizontally off the ground and from a most unusual throwing angle.