The Chicago White Sox were first established in 1901 as the Chicago White Stockings. Throughout the last 119 years, hundreds of pitchers have made starts for the team. Here is a list narrowing down the five that stand out the most.
5. Red Faber (1914-1933)
Red Faber pitched with the White Sox for his entire 20-year career. He was the long bridge between the careers of White Sox greats Ed Walsh and Luke Appling. Faber hit his peak in the early 1920s where he led the American League in WHIP and ERA twice. He had a very dominant peak and was also able to pitch for a very long time. As a result, he is second in franchise history in wins, complete games and innings pitched. The Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Faber in 1964.
4. Ted Lyons (1923-1942, 1946)
Ted Lyons began his career with the White Sox in 1923 and stayed with them for the rest of his 21-year career. He had three seasons with over 20 wins with White Sox teams that were never able to compete during his tenure. He was the definition of a reliable starter who can go the distance and start 30 games in a season. Being with the White Sox as long as he was, Lyons leads the team all-time in a lot of key longevity stats. Furthermore, he is the White Sox all-time leader in wins, complete games, innings pitched and starts. He joined the Hall of Fame in 1955, and the White Sox retired his number 16 in 1986.
3. Mark Buehrle (2000-2011)
The White Sox ace throughout the 2000s clocks in at number three on the list. Being drafted in the 38th round of the 1998 MLB Draft, not many would have expected Buehrle to make it on this list, but he defied
the odds. Buehrle had his own unique style in beating batters with finesse and control rather than velocity. He kept batters on their toes with his 84 mph fastball and 79 mph changeup. At times he was unhittable, posting a no-hitter in 2007 and a perfect game in 2009. He won a World Series Championship with the White Sox in 2005. As a result, The White Sox retired Buehrle’s number 56 in 2017.
2. Chris Sale (2010-2016)
Sale started his career with ease as the White Sox called him up as a reliever two months after they drafted him in 2010. He made his starting debut in 2012, and it was all dominance from there. Sale was an all-star in every year as a starter with the White Sox, including a top-five Cy Young finish from 2013-2016. He was able to be such a dominant pitcher thanks to his slider which nobody seemed to be able to hit. He posted some incredible numbers with the White Sox, including a 1.035 WHIP, 2.90 FIP, 3.03 ERA, 140 ERA+ and 11.1 BB/9. While he did have a short tenure where the White Sox never seemed to find success, he was consistently one of the top pitchers in baseball during his tenure with the White Sox.
1. Ed Walsh (1904-1916)
One hundred years before Chris Sale, there was Ed Walsh. Walsh spent 13 years with the White Sox, where he not only posted the best ERA and FIP in franchise history but in major league history. Talk about
consistency, Walsh averaged a 1.000 WHIP with the White Sox in thirteen seasons. He led the MLB in innings pitched four times and games started twice. He kept batters from getting on base, kept runners from scoring, and was able to eat up innings. There is not much more you could ask from a pitcher, and that is why Ed Walsh takes the crown for the number one White Sox pitcher of all time.
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