Chicago White Sox All-Stars: Building the Best White Sox All-Time Lineup

The 1919 Black Sox scandal. An 88-year gap between World Series titles. The Chicago White Sox know some hard times, especially lately. Maybe superfan Pope Leo XIV will provide some divine inspiration.

Still this is a storied team with proud moments and big legends (and a Big Hurt). But with a few exceptions, the Southsiders’ very best is in its past.

Manager: Ozzie Guillen

Ozzie Guillen isn’t first all-time in wins for the White Sox (he’s third). He hasn’t managed the most games in Chicago’s history, either (he’s also third there). What Guillen represents, however, is the White Sox manager with the most games and most wins who also won a World Series: given how rarely that’s occurred in the 125-year history of the team, that’s no small thing, just the most sensible one. As a bonus, as a player with the White Sox, Guillen played a fine shortstop: he ranks first in defensive wins above replacement, ahead of even the slick-fielding Luis Aparicio.

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Starting pitcher: Mark Buehrle

It’s easy to underrate Mark Buehrle, since he never won a Cy Young, or led the league in ERA or even a more traditional stat like wins. As far as consistency and durability goes, however, you can’t do much better than Buehrle, who spent 12 of his 16 years in the majors with the White Sox. Across nearly 2,500 innings with Chicago, Buehrle produced a 3.83 ERA — for a 120 ERA+ — where he was at-worst league-average for around 200 innings a year, but far more often was one of the better — and most efficient — pitchers in the league.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Reliever/closer: Bobby Jenks

Bobby Jenks’ career was a short one thanks to injuries, but he made his mark in the time he had. Claimed off waivers in the 2004-2005 offseason then called up from Double-A midseason, he was installed as Chicago’s closer before the year was out thanks to Dustin Hermanson’s back injury. Jenks ended up becoming the first rookie to close out a World Series, with his fourth save of the postseason. His 173 saves ranks second in White Sox history, behind only Bobby Thigpen — Thigpen was excellent and memorable, too, but sometimes it’s fair to have to count the rings.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Catcher: Carlton Fisk

Carlton Fisk played for the Sox for his entire career, just not the same Sox. The first 11 years of his career came with the Red Sox during his peak, but his 13 years with the White Sox sealed his Hall of Fame candidacy. From age 33 through 42, Fisk hit .261/.334/.449, good for a 113 OPS+. Somehow, his bat didn’t slow until well into his 40s: he received MVP votes as a 42-year-old, and his three best seasons at the plate in Chicago were that one and the two before it. His defense aged just as gracefully.

(Photo by Owen C. Shaw/Getty Images)

1B: Paul Konerko

Paul Konerko might not have made Baseball’s Hall of Fame, but the White Sox retired his number 14 with good reason. Konerko spent 16 of his 18 years in the majors with Chicago, giving him to rank second in games played (2,268) and RBIs (1,383), third in hits (2,292), runs scored (1,141) and doubles (406), second in home runs (432) and first in total bases (4,010). In 2005, Konerko hit .283/.375/.534 with 40 homers, was named ALCS MVP for two dingers and seven RBIs, and then slugged .500 in the Fall Classic.

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

2B: Nellie Fox

Nellie Fox’s career began and ended elsewhere, but Chicago is where most of it happened, in terms of both years and production. Fox made 12 All-Star teams, all with the White Sox, won three Gold Gloves with Chicago, and his sole MVP came in 1959, when he hit .306/.380/.389 — hey, it was a different time — while leading the majors in games and plate appearances. The most notable thing about Fox, though, is that he never struck out more than 18 times in a season: in 19 years, he whiffed 216 times, or just 2.1% of the time.

(Photo by Hy Peskin/Getty Images)

3B: Robin Ventura

Robin Ventura might have struggled to remain productive well into his 30s, but those were his post-White Sox years. With Chicago, the third baseman was an underrated and highly productive third baseman. From his rookie 1990 campaign through his final year in town in ‘98, Ventura hit .275/.366/.442, good for a 118 OPS+, while winning five Gold Gloves for his defense at the hot corner: he averaged nearly 4.5 wins above replacement per year in that stretch, enough to finish ranked sixth in franchise history among position players despite the relatively limited time spent with Chicago.

(Courtesy: Jonathan Kirn /Allsport via Getty Images)

SS: Luis Aparicio

Luis Aparicio had separate stints with the White Sox, with the difference between them their length: he was as productive the second time around in his mid-30s as he had been in his mid-20s. Aparicio led the AL in steals in nine consecutive seasons, and MLB as a whole in five of those, including four campaigns with between 51 and 57 thefts. While you’d never confuse him for Frank Thomas, he hit fine enough for a shortstop of the era, especially one who picked up nine Gold Gloves in his career. If Ozzie Guillen had hit, he’d be Luis Aparicio.

(Photo by Hy Peskin/Getty Images)

OF: Minnie Minoso

Minnie Minoso played with the White Sox from ages 27 to 33. And then 36 to 37. Then at 40. And again at 52, and once more at 56. While he only played for a meaningful amount of time in that first return, Minnoso’s overall numbers with Chicago were special: .304/.397/.468 with 135 homers, 260 doubles, 79 triples and 658 walks, the last of those good for sixth in franchise history. Minoso ranks fifth all-time in wins above replacement among White Sox players, and was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in their cap in 2022.

(Chicago Tribune historical photo/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

OF: Jermaine Dye

Jermaine Dye arrived to the White Sox late, in a manner of speaking: he was already 31 when he got there, with the first nine years of his career behind him. He was actually right on time, though: Dye’s first season in Chicago was 2005, and his hitting .274/.333/.512 with 31 homers and 62 extra-base hits went a long way towards winning their first World Series since 1917. In the end, Dye spent as much time in Chicago as he did anywhere else, racking up 164 homers over five years, with 2006 (1.006 OPS) the standout performance.

(Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images)

OF: Magglio Ordonez

Maggio Ordonez held things down in Chicago’s lineup for eight years, all but one of them — his rookie 1998 — a display of his offensive prowess, as he hit .307/.364/.525 with 187 home runs during those seasons. He left the organization in 2005 as a free agent, right as spring training kicked off, two months after Chicago had signed Jermaine Dye as his replacement in right field. Ordonez would go on to be part of the Tigers’ post-2003 resurgence, but it was Dye who won a World Series ring. What could have been, but what was still worked out.

Jonathan Daniel /Allsport (via Getty Images)

DH: Frank Thomas

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Frank Thomas used to play football, and he sure looked like it in an era before outfielders who looked like linebackers was a normal occurrence. The baseballs were certainly aware of his strength: Thomas smashed 521 home runs in his career across 19 seasons, 448 of them with Chicago, the team he spent his first 16 major-league years with. The homers stand out for the two-time AL MVP, but there was more to his game. Thomas’ on-base percentage with Chicago was .427: that’s first among White Sox all-time, and his .419 career mark sits 21st in MLB.

(Photo by Ron Vesely/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Honorable Mentions:

Jimmy Dykes (manager)
Al Lopez (manager)
Tony La Russa (manager)
Billy Pierce (starting pitcher)
Ted Lyons (starting pitcher)
Red Faber (starting pitcher)
Ed Walsh (starting pitcher)
Jack McDowell (starting pitcher)
Chris Sale (starting pitcher)
Hoyt Willhelm (reliever/closer)
Bobby Thigpen (reliever/closer)
Roberto Hernandez (reliever/closer)
Sherm Lollar (catcher)
Jose Abreu (1B)
Eddie Collins (2B)
Willie Kamm (3B)
Luke Appling (SS)
George Davis (SS)
Chet Lemon (OF)
Shoeless Joe Jackson (OF)
Fielder Jones (OF)
Jim Landis (OF)
Johnny Mostil (OF)

Check out the other MLB all-time All-Star teams.

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