Today in White Sox History: December 13

1969

The White Sox dealt their star lefthander Gary Peters and catcher Don Pavletich to the Red Sox for Syd O’Brien and Billy Farmer. (Farmer retired instead of reporting, so as compensation Chicago received Jerry “Wheat Germ Kid” Janeski.)

Peters would win 33 games over the next three seasons. Janeski won 10 games in 1970, then was shipped to Washington for outfielder Rick Reichardt.

Peters had spent seven full and four partial seasons with the White Sox, winning 20 games once, making two All- Star teams, leading the league in ERA and winning the Rookie of the Year in 1963.

1982

The White Sox outbid 16 other teams and signed free agent pitcher Floyd Bannister to a five-year, $4.5 million deal. Bannister led the American League in strikeouts in 1981 with Seattle. In his five seasons with the Sox, Bannister won in double figures every year, with a high of 16 wins in both 1983 and 1987.

His signing angered Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who wasn’t used to losing out on talent. Steinbrenner was quoted as saying that he regretted voting against Edward DeBartolo in his bid to buy the Sox franchise from Bill Veeck back in 1980, and leveled verbal blasts at White Sox owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn.

Seattle ended up OK in the end, as well, netting minor-leaguer and future star Danny Tartabull from the Cincinnati Reds organization as compensation for losing Bannister.

2001

In his quest to find reliable starting pitching, White Sox GM Ken Williams traded young pitchers Kip Wells and Josh Fogg and veteran hurler Sean Lowe to the Pirates for righthander Todd Ritchie and Double-A utilityman Lee Evans.

Ritchie would suffer a shoulder injury and have a disastrous 2002 season, going 5-15 with an ERA of more than 6.00! A free agent, the Sox let him go after the 2002 season.

Although the trade was a significant loss for the White Sox, in fairness to Williams none of the pitchers he gave up really asserted themselves over the ensuing seasons. Fogg perhaps came the closest to making an impact, going 62-69 with an ERA of more than 5.00 in nine big-league years.

2004

On the third anniversary of his ill-fated Todd Ritchie deal, White Sox GM Ken Williams made good in a continued remake of his contending club. He sent powerful but defensively-challenged outfielder Carlos Lee to Milwaukee as part of a four-player deal.

The person coming back to replace him, Scott Podsednik, energized the lineup, stole over 40 bases for the White Sox twice, made the All-Star team and hit a dramatic, walk-off home run in Game 2 of the 2005 World Series to win it for the Sox, 7-6.

2014

Melky Cabrera, best known for his 50-game suspension for testosterone in 2012 a month after winning the All-Star Game MVP — and the fake web site he created to try to duck responsibility for the test — signed with the White Sox for three years, $42 million.