The Mount RushWAR series will allow us to take a more in-depth look at the careers of the four players with the highest bWAR in franchise history.
Luke Appling (74.4)
Background
Luke Appling grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Fulton High School and Oglethorpe University in Atlanta before embarking on his professional career. He was acquired by the White Sox in August, 1930 when the team purchased his contract from the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association. He made his big league debut shortly after signing, and emerged as a semi-regular player the following season.
White Sox Career
Despite below-average offensive production in his first two full seasons, the White Sox continued to invest playing time in Appling.
Peak
In 1933, at age 26, Appling hit his stride as a big leaguer hitting .322/.379/.443. His 5.1 bWAR ranked ninth in the American League that season.
1933 began a stretch of 11 seasons where Appling averaged .320/.408/.410, 115 OPS+, and 4.9 bWAR. He was a five-time All Star during his prime years. He finished second in the MVP voting twice during this stretch.
In 1936, Appling was runner-up to Lou Gehrig. He hit .388 to win his first batting title, and finished fifth in the American League with 6.9 bWAR.
In 1943, Appling finished behind Spud Chandler. He hit .328 to win his second batting title. He also led the league in OBP at .419. His 7.6 bWAR was second in the league trailing only Lou Bodreau.
When Appling missed 1944 while serving in the Army during the late stages of World War II, it seemed his career might be over. He missed most of 1945 as well. He was discharged with enough time remaining to return to Chicago for 18 games.
As it turned out, Appling had four seasons of star-caliber play remaining. From 1946-49, Appling put an authoritative stamp on his Hall of Fame career. In his age 39-42 seasons, Appling averaged .308/.408/.384, 120 OPS+, and 4.8 bWAR. He made the All Star team two more times during this period, and received down ballot MVP consideration each year.
Appling was released by the White Sox at the conclusion of a 1950 season after just 144 plate appearances that year.
Legacy
Despite his status as one of the all-time great White Sox players, the teams that Appling played for were decidedly mediocre. Appling played on just five winning teams in 20 seasons. He never played in the postseason.
Appling remains the White Sox all-time leader in games played (2422), hits (2749), singles (2162), and times on base (4062).
Appling is among the most accomplished, and durable shortstops in big league history. He ranks among the top-10 shortstops in Major League history in games played (8th), putouts (7th), and assists (6th).
Ted Lyons (71.5)
Background
Ted Lyons grew up in Louisiana. He attended Vinton High School before heading to Baylor University. Lyons was an excellent athlete who lettered in basketball and track at Baylor in addition to baseball. He signed with the White Sox in the spring of 1923 as he was finishing up school. He reported directly to the big club, and appeared in nine games that season.
White Sox Career
At 23 years old, Lyons made the team again out of spring training in 1924 and never looked back. He pitched 216.1 below-average innings in his first full season.
Lyons established himself as a legitimate star in 1925. He pitched 262.2 innings and led the league with 21 wins and five shutouts. His 5.4 bWAR was sixth among AL pitchers.
Lyons remained remarkably effective throughout the remainder of his career. In the 19 seasons he played from 1925-46, Lyons posted an ERA+ below league-average just twice (1933-34).
Peak
Lyons hit his peak in 1927. The 26-year-old right-hander led the league with 307.2 innings, 30 complete games, and 22 wins. His 143 ERA+ mark was only the fifth best season of his career by that measure, but he failed to clear 191 innings in the other four. The combination of excellent performance and a high volume of innings helped him produce a career-best 7.4 bWAR, fourth best in the AL that year. He finished third in the 1927 MVP race behind Lou Gehrig and Harry Heilmann.
In 1930, Lyons again led the league in innings (297.2) and complete games (29).
He made his only All Star team in 1939. At the age of 38, Lyons led the league in FIP (3.22), WHIP (1.09), and K/BB (2.50) while posting a career-best 173 ERA+.
He continued his “decline” phase by leading the league in ERA (2.10) and ERA+ (171) over 180.1 innings in 1942.
Duty Calls
Lyons joined the Marine Corps in 1943 and spent his age 42-44 seasons pitching for Uncle Sam.
He made five final appearances in early 1946 before being hired to replace Jimmy Dykes as manager of the White Sox. He managed through 1948, finishing with a career record of 185-245.
Legacy
Like Appling, Ted Lyons played through arguably the bleakest era in White Sox history. He played on just six winning teams in 21 seasons, and never played in the postseason.
Although he ranks second in career bWAR for the White Sox behind Appling, he is actually second in pitching bWAR to Red Faber who edged Lyons for inclusion in the team’s starting rotation. In an interesting twist, Lyons was a significantly better hitter than Faber during their careers, helping him to secure his spot on Chicago’s Mount RushWAR.
Lyons remains Chicago’s franchise leader in wins (260), innings pitched (4161), games started (484), and complete games (356)
Lyons was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. Known more for his control (he had the lowest walk rate in the AL four times during his career) and durability than his power stuff, Lyons is something of an odd Hall of Famer to be sure. Although he had excellent command of the strike zone, Lyons actually walked more batters (1121) than he struck out (1073) in his career. Despite that imbalance, he finished with a career 118 ERA+.
With the modern game increasingly dominated by power pitchers and power hitters, Ted Lyons serves as a reminder of how much the game has evolved in the past century.
Frank Thomas (68.3)
Background
Frank Thomas played his high school ball in Columbus, Georgia. He attended Auburn University where he played baseball for three seasons, and football for one. After going undrafted out of high school, Thomas was selected seventh overall by the White Sox in the 1989 draft.
White Sox Career
Thomas more than held his own in the Florida State League after signing in 1989. He then shredded the Double A Southern League for 109 games in 1990 before making his Major League debut in August. He immediately proved himself as an impact player, posting a 177 OPS+ in 60 games during his rookie year.
By his age 23 season, Frank Thomas was already the best hitter in the American League. In 1991, he paced the AL in walks, OBP, and OPS+. He finished third in the MVP voting behind Cal Ripken Jr. and Cecil Fielder, despite producing 4.2 more bWAR than the latter.
Over the course of the next decade, “The Big Hurt” would stake a claim to the title of best hitter in baseball.
From 1991-2000, Thomas averaged a line of .320/.439/.581, 168 OPS+, and 5.1 bWAR per season. He led the AL in walks and OBP four times, and OPS+ three times. He also led the league in runs, slugging, and doubles once each during that stretch.
In 1993, Thomas won the first of his back-to-back MVP’s. He hit .317/.426/.607 with 41 homers, 128 RBI, and 106 runs. He was the best player on one of the best teams in White Sox history. The Sox won the AL West with a 94-68 record. They were defeated in six games in the ALCS by the eventual world champion Toronto Blue Jays. Thomas was a monster in the series, hitting .353/.593/.529.
The 1994 Chicago White Sox were on track to deliver on the promise of the team’s near miss the season before. When the Players Association went on strike on August 12, the White Sox were leading the AL Central with a 67-46 record. In what would prove to be his career year, Thomas ran away with his second straight MVP after hitting .353/.487/.729, 212 OPS+, and 6.4 bWAR.
Much has been made of the impact of the 1994 strike on the fortunes of the Montreal Expos franchise. There is a case to be made that the White Sox franchise was impacted in a similar fashion. Both teams were legitimate World Series contenders with star caliber players whose fans were robbed of the opportunity to watch them compete in October.
Thomas continued to dominate the American League through the late 1990s, but the White Sox would not make the playoffs again until 2000.
The 2000 White Sox won the AL Central with a league-best 95-67 record. The Big Hurt was once again a driving force behind the team’s success. He hit .328/.436/.625, 163 OPS+, and produced 6.0 bWAR. As the best player on the best team in the league, Thomas finished second in the MVP voting behind Jason Giambi. In a stunning turn of events, the Sox were swept by the Seattle Mariners, winner of the AL Wilcard, in the ALDS.
Decline
As he entered his mid-30s, Thomas would have an increasingly difficult time keeping his massive body healthy. In his final five seasons with the White Sox, Thomas remained incredibly productive if increasingly unavailable.
From 2001-2005, Thomas averaged just 86 games per season. Despite an assortment of aches, and serious injuries, Big Frank still managed to produce a 135 OPS+ when he was in the lineup.
2005 would prove a bittersweet ending to his tenure on the South Side. Thomas limped through 124 productive plate appearances before playing his last game in late-July and succumbing to season-ending surgery. The White Sox went on to capture their first World Series since 1917 without the greatest hitter in franchise history. Thomas was visible with the team in October, and as thrilled as anybody when the team clinched in Houston.
After the White Sox
With his health in question, the White Sox allowed Thomas to depart via free agency after the 2005 season. He landed in Oakland where he finished fourth in the MVP voting in 2006. Thomas dominated as the AL West Champion Athletics swept Minnesota in the ALDS. He struggled badly in the ALCS when A’s were swept by Detroit to end their season.
He was productive again in 2007, this time for the Blue Jays. He was released by Toronto early in the 2008 season before hooking up with Oakland again for the final 55 games of his Hall of Fame career.
Legacy
In 16 seasons with the White Sox, the Big Hurt was a five-time All Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and two-time American League MVP. He is, without question, the greatest hitter in franchise history.
Thomas is the White Sox all-time leader in home runs (448), RBI (1465), OBP (.427), slugging (.568), runs (1327), doubles (447), walks (1466), OPS+ (161), and offensive bWAR (75.0).
His 1667 career walks are 10th most in Major League history. He also ranks among the top-20 in slugging (19th), home runs (20th), OBP (20th), and OPS+ (20th).
Eddie Collins (66.7)
Background
Eddie Collins grew up in New York. He graduated from Irving High School in Tarrytown on the east bank of the Hudson River. Collins attended Columbia before signing to play for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906. When he made his debut later that season, Collins became an exceedingly rare player in the annals of big league baseball: a teenager who was also an Ivy Leaguer.
Athletics Career
Collins appeared in the big leagues again in 1907, but spent most of his age-20 season in the minors. By 1908, he was a semi-regular player, and above-average hitter for Philadelphia. By 1909, he was a star.
From 1909-1914, Collins anchored the Athletics lineup. He averaged .345/.432/.447, 163 OPS+, and an incredible 8.9 bWAR per season. As a member of Connie Mack’s vaunted $100,00 infield, Collins was the best player on three World Series Championship teams in 1910, 1911, and 1913.
Collins finished sixth, or better, in the MVP voting three straight seasons before finally winning the award in 1914. After the A’s were swept by the Boston Braves in the 1914 World Series, Connie Mack and the Athletics agreed to sell Collins to Charles Comiskey’s White Sox for $50,000. It was the first time in history that a reigning MVP was traded in the off-season.
White Sox Career
With Chicago, Collins picked up right where he left off. 1915 was his third straight season of 9+ bWAR. He hit .332/.460/.436, 165 OPS+ and led the league in walks (119). Collins was the biggest piece in a lineup overhaul that helped the Sox win 93 games, a 23 game improvement from the previous year.
Collins was excellent again in 1916, posting 7.1 bWAR. The Sox won 89 games and finished just two back of the Red Sox in the AL.
World Champions
The White Sox hit their collective stride in 1917. Collins, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, and Happy Felsch all finished among the top-10 hitters in the AL by bWAR. Eddie Cicotte was the best pitcher in the American League. The team won the AL by nine games with a 100-54 record. Their .649 winning percentage, and 100 wins are still the best marks in franchise history.
In the World Series, the Sox were met by another 100-win club, John McGraw’s New York Giants.
Collins was excellent in the series, leading the Chicago offense with a .409/.458/.455 line in the six games. His go-ahead single in the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 5 was among the most pivotal plays of the entire series.
The Sox won the 1917 World Series in six games behind the excellent pitching of Cicotte, and emerging Franchise Phenom, Red Faber who earned three of the four Chicago wins.
After the Series
With the core of the team returning, it seemed the White Sox were poised for another big year in 1918. Instead, the team struggled. Cicotte and catcher Ray Schalk took major steps backwards after excellent 1917 seasons. Jackson, as well as pitchers Faber and Lefty Williams missed huge chunks of the season after enlisting in the armed forces for the home stretch in World War I. Collins himself joined the Marines and missed the final few weeks of the season. The defending champions finished just 57-67.
1919
1919 would prove to be very different. Collins, Jackson, and Williams returned from the service and posted big seasons. Cicotte returned to form. The White Sox won the American League at 88-52.
The National League was represented by the Cincinnati Reds, themselves having won 96 games. In an unusual twist, the teams agreed to play a best-of-nine series in 1919.
While the White Sox were favored to win the series, tensions over salary issues, and personal hostilities, left the team susceptible to threats from the outside. The baseball world watched as a plot initiated by gamblers to pay several members of the team to lose the World Series unfolded in plain sight.
Although the details of the scandal remain somewhat murky, even in the present day, the plot was exposed in the year following the series. Despite his poor play (.531 OPS in the 1919 series), Collins himself was not implicated in the conspiracy. The fact that he managed to stay on the right side of the affair appears to be a result of the combination of his personal character, and the fact that he was not on particularly good terms with many of the conspirators.
Life After the Black Sox
The 1920 White Sox won 96 games, but finished two games behind Cleveland in the American League. Collins paced the offense with 7.9 bWAR. When the scandal went public following the 1920 season, the baseball world was rocked to its core.
As a franchise, it would be decades before the White Sox could put 1919 in the rear-view mirror completely. The team would not play in a World Series again until 1959. They would not win one until 2005.
Collins would play six more seasons for the White Sox after eight of his teammates were banned from baseball. From 1921-1926, he averaged .343/.434/.438, 128 OPS+, and 4.9 bWAR for teams that ranged from mediocre to bad.
Despite remaining productive as a 39-year-old in 1926, Collins was released by the White Sox that off-season.
After the White Sox
Collins spent the 1927-1930 seasons back with the Athletics as a coach and part-time player.
In 1933, Collins became the Vice President and General Manager of the Boston Red Sox. While with the Red Sox he oversaw the acquisition of a number of Boston’s great players of the next generation, including Ted Williams.
Legacy
It is possible that Eddie Collins is the most underrated great player in Major League history. With 124 career bWAR, Collins ranks 13th all-time ahead of Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and countless other icons.
Collins is part of a small group of players who would easily qualify as a Franchise Phenom for two different organizations. In fact, his 57.3 bWAR amassed as a member of the Athletics places him 5th all-time, just outside of their Mount RushWAR.
Collins finished sixth, or better, in the MVP voting seven different times in his career including three straight seasons with the White Sox from 1922-1924. He is Chicago’s all-time leader in stolen bases (368).
Collins is the all-time Major League leader in games played (2650), and assists (7630), as a second baseman. He ranks 8th all-time in stolen bases (741), 10th in bWAR for position players (124) and times on base (4891). He also ranks among the top-20 in triples (12th), OBP (13th), runs (17th), and walks (19th).
