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Today in White Sox History: July 25

Long games, long records, longballs

Minnesota Twins v Chicago White Sox
Leury García of the Chicago White Sox hits the first of two home runs on the day against the Minnesota Twins on July 25, 2020 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images

1925

White Sox catcher and future Hall-of-Famer Ray Schalk played in his 1,576th game behind the plate, which at the time was the major league record.


1954

In the first game of a twin bill at Boston, White Sox pitcher Jack Harshman set the franchise record by striking out 16 Red Sox. Harshman, a converted first baseman, was taught a “slip pitch,” a variation of a palm ball, by manager Paul Richards. Harshman got the win, 5-2. The White Sox ended up sweeping the doubleheader taking the second game, 4-2.


1959

Marathon game No. 2 of the 1959 season took place (again) against the Orioles (and again) at Comiskey Park. This one was another 17-inning affair that saw the White Sox tie the game in the ninth and then win it thanks to Harry “Suitcase” Simpson’s single, scoring Sammy Esposito. The final was 3-2. Bob Shaw started and went 11 innings, Turk Lown then went the last six innings and got the win.


2014

José Abreu became the 26th rookie in MLB history to hit 30 home runs in a season. The 30th long ball came in his 89th game of the season, which was the third-fastest pace behind Rudy York (79 games) and Mark McGwire (84).


2020

Some afternoons, you just can’t miss. Such was the case, in this game, for White Sox utility player Leury García. Against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field, Leury homered from both sides of the plate in a 10-3 pasting of Minnesota. His first home run came hitting left-handed, off of Zach Littell. The other long ball came hitting right-handed off of Devin Smeltzer. On the day, he went 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs. He became the eighth White Sox player to pull off this feat.