The 24 best players in Chicago White Sox history

Infielder Luke Appling is easily the most distinguished name in Chicago White Sox history. Appling starred on the left side of the infield for Chicago for two decades--while even taking a year off in 1944 to serve in the military. He made seven all-star teams, won two batting titles, and retired in 1950 with a lifetime slash line of .310/.399/.398. Power was not a huge part of his game, as Appling hit only 45 big-league home runs, but he was a pesky contact hitter who could use his legs to make things happen. He's still the franchise's all-time leader in games played, plate appearances, and hits, and Chicago retired his number four in 1975. Appling was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1964. 

Ted Lyons began his career with the White Sox nearly 100 years ago, and what he was able to accomplish in 21 seasons with the club cemented his status as the most notable pitcher in the history of the franchise. Lyons earned 260 victories in a Chicago uniform while pitching to a 3.67 ERA. He was an all-star, won an ERA title, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. He's the organization's all-time leader in complete games and wins, and the team rightfully retired his number 16 in 1986. 

With all due respect to Luke Appling and everything he did for this club in the 30s and 40s, the White Sox have never had more of an offensive force than Frank Thomas. The big right-handed slugger was one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball for a decade and a half while with Chicago and owns most of the franchise's significant offensive records. Thomas was a five-time all-star who won back-to-back AL MVP awards in '93 and '94. He was a batting champ, won four Silver Sluggers, and even took home the Home Run Derby trophy in 1995. Thomas crushed 448 homers and drove in 1465 runs for the White Sox--both the most in franchise history. Chicago understandably retired his number 35, and "The Big Hurt" was easily elected into the Hall of Fame in 2014. 

Second baseman Eddie Collins began his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. He won the MVP award in 1914, but following that season, he was purchased by the White Sox for the meager, by today's standards, the sum of $50,000. That proved to be money well spent for Chicago. In 12 seasons for the White Sox, Collins slashed .331/.426/.424 with 31 homers, 803 RBI, 266 doubles, 102 triples, and an incredible 368 stolen bases. He led the league in steals three times while wearing a Chicago uniform and is the franchise's all-time leader in that category. 

Right-hander Ed Walsh was arguably the best American League pitcher of his era and is someone that is just not talked about nearly enough. Walsh spent the first 14 years of his career in Chicago with the White Sox, and what he was able to accomplish really jumps off the page. In 426 games (312 starts), Walsh earned 195 victories with an incredible 1.81 ERA. He threw 249 complete games--including 49 shutouts, led the league in innings pitched four times, earned two ERA titles, and won 40 games in 1908. He was instrumental in the White Sox winning the World Series in 1906 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Old Timers Committee in 1946. 

If Ted Lyons is generally considered the most noteworthy White Sox hurler, Red Farber may be 1A. The righty spent all of his 20 Major League seasons in Chicago, and over those two decades out together quite the big league resume. In 669 appearances (483 starts), Farber won 254 games with a 3.15 ERA. He earned ERA titles in both 1921 and 1922 while also leading the league in complete games in both of those seasons. The Cascade, IA native is second to Lyons on the franchise's all-time list for both wins and innings but leads the team in games pitched. Farber was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1964. 

Righty Eddie Cicotte may have spent less time in the Windy City than some of the others on this list, but he sure made an impact and left a lasting impression. Cicotte was already an established starting pitcher when he arrived in Chicago in 1912, but his best days certainly came in this White Sox uniform. With Chicago, Cicotte earned 156 victories in nine years while working to an excellent 2.25 ERA. He completed 183 of his 258 White Sox starts, earned an ERA title in 1917, and was arguably the primary reason Chicago won the World Series that year. 

Lefty Wilbur Wood came to the White Sox as a raw 25-year-old in 1967, and what he was able to do over the next 12 years sure made Boston and Pittsburgh regret giving up on him. In a dozen seasons with Chicago, Wood won 163 games with a 3.18 ERA. He led the league in appearances for three straight seasons from 1968-1970 before the White Sox moved him into the rotation, where he promptly won 24 games in back-to-back years. Wood would make three all-star teams as a White Sox pitcher and finish in the top three in the Cy Young voting three times. 

Southpaw Mark Buehrle spent the first 12 years of his career in Chicago with the White Sox, and for much of that time, he was one of the best pitchers in the American League. The calling card of Buehrle's career was his durability, as in each of his 11 seasons as a member of the White Sox' rotation he made 30 or more starts and tossed over 200 innings--unheard-of consistency in the modern game. He won 161 games in a Chicago uniform and pitched to 3.83 ERA, while earning trips to four all-star games and winning three Gold Glove awards. Buehrle was a critical piece of the White Sox championship team in 2005, and in '09 delivered one of those memorable performances in baseball history when he tossed a perfect game. 

Southpaw Billy Pierce began his career in Detroit and finished it in San Francisco, but in between became one of the best pitchers in the American League while with the White Sox. In 13 seasons with Chicago, Pierce earned 186 victories and pitched to a stellar 3.19 ERA. He was an all-star seven times, won the ERA title in 1955, and tossed over 200 innings in 10 of 11 years in the middle of his career. The 35 shutouts Pierce threw for the White Sox still rank third in franchise history.

Second baseman Nellie Fox began his career as a part-time player in Philadelphia, but when he arrived in Chicago in 1950, everything changed. Given a chance to play every day with the White Sox, Fox thrived, making the all-star team in 12 of his 14 seasons in the Windy City. In just over 2100 games with the White Sox, he slashed .291/.349/.367 while leading the league in hits four times. He was the 1959 American League MVP, earned three Gold Glove awards, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. Chicago retired his number 2 in '76.  

Outfielder Minnie Minoso suited up for the White Sox in four different decades and has one of the most exciting legacies in this franchise's history. In his heyday, Minoso was as talented as anyone in the game, and made four all-star teams and won a pair of Gold Glove awards in the Windy City. In a shade under 6,000 at-bats for Chicago, Minoso slashed .304/.397/.468 with 135 homers and 808 RBI. But numbers alone aren't what makes him exciting. The Cuba native became a coach for the White Sox in 1976 but injuries prompted him to unretire and actually suit up a little that September. Four years later at the age of 54 the same thing happened, and he was activated to pinch hit on two different occasions. The White Sox have retired Minoso's number 9 and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022 by the Golden Days Era Committee. 

Robin Ventura spent the first 10 seasons of his excellent career manning the hot corner on the Southside of Chicago, and it was there that he made a name for himself as one of the better two-way players in the American League. With the White Sox Ventura slashed .274/.365/.440 with 171 homers, 741 RBI, and 219 doubles while being named an all-star and winning five Gold Glove awards. He'd later go on to manage the White Sox from 2012-2016. 

Left-hander Doc White was primarily a pitcher, but he also actually took over 1,000 at-bats as an outfielder while with the White Sox. Let's start with his work on the mound. In the early 1900s very few American League pitchers were as dominant as White. He won the ERA title in 1906 with an incredible 1.52 mark, and led the league with 27 wins the following season. He threw over 200 innings ten times, and actually surpassed the 300-inning plateau twice. White is perhaps best known for helping the Sox win the World Series in 1906, but he hit only .203 as an offensive player for Chicago, he is still certainly remembered for being one of the earliest two-way talents. 

Luis Aparicio is still considered one of the greatest defensive shortstops of all time, and he's proof that you don't have to be a slugging power hitter to make a sizeable difference in the outcome of a game. In 10 years with the White Sox over two different stints, Aparicio slashed just .269/.319/.348 with 43 home runs. But he made the all-star team in six different seasons for the White Sox because of everything else he brought to the field. The Venezuela native was the 1956 Rookie of the Year and won eight Gold Glove awards in a Chicago uniform in addition to stealing 318 bases. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. 

Ray Schalk spent all but one of his 18 big league seasons playing catcher for the White Sox, and he earned a reputation in Chicago as one of the most hard-nosed players in the game. Schalk was not necessarily much of a hitter in his day, as his .254/.340/.316 Chicago slash line would indicate, but he was phenomenal behind the plate. Schalk was instrumental in handling a strong White Sox pitching staff that included Ted Lyons and Red Faber, and he earned himself a World Series ring in 1917. The Veterans Committee voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1955. 

Switch-hitter George Davis played one year for the White Sox in 1902 but didn't get to Chicago for an extended period of time until 1904, when he was already a 33-year-old 13-year veteran. But he quickly left an impression on fans in the Windy City. In just seven seasons with the White Sox, Davis stole 162 bases and tripled 32 times, using his speed to help set up RBI situations for the team's run producers. His versatility also came in incredibly handy for Chicago, as the team used him at first, second, and shortstop, and he helped the White Sox win the World Series in 1906. 

Center fielder Fielder Jones has one incredible name for a baseball player, and as a kid who grew up to play 15 years in the Major Leagues, maybe his parents were onto something. Eight of those seasons were spent in Chicago with the White Sox, where Jones was a staple on several good Chicago teams, including the one that won the 1906 World Series. 

First baseman Jose Abreu was one of the top right-handed hitters in Cuba prior to coming to the United States and joining the White Sox in 2014, and he certainly did not disappoint at the sport's highest level. In nine seasons on the Southside of Chicago, Abreu slashed .292/.354/.506 with 243 homers, 863 RBI, and 303 doubles. He led the American League in RBI in back-to-back seasons in '19 and '20, and based the league in hits in the truncated 2020 campaign. Abreu was the Rookie of the Year in '14, won the MVP award in '20, and collected three all-star appearances and three Silver Slugger awards along the way. Just this winter he signed a free-agent contract to join the Astros, and while Chi-Sox fans have to be disappointed he left, they'll surely always have fond memories of his time in the Windy City. 

Left-hander Thornton Lee spent time in both Cleveland and New York, but the bulk of his career came with the White Sox with whom he was an important member of their pitching staff for over a decade. In 11 seasons with Chicago, Lee pitched to an even 104-104 record with a 3.33 ERA, but while those numbers indicate he was a league-average pitcher, there were periods where he was far more than that. Take 1941 for example. In that campaign, Lee led the league with 30 complete games, won the ERA title, and had the best WHIP in the American League. He was obviously an all-star that season and would go on to make another midsummer classic roster in 1945. 

When healthy Chris Sale is still one of the better starting pitchers in the American League, unfortunately for him and his current team, the Boston Red Sox, that hasn't been the case nearly enough in recent years. Prior to arriving in New England, however, Sale was the ace of the White Sox, where he excelled for seven seasons. The southpaw was a dominant reliever in his first two big league campaigns, but once he got a chance to start he quickly became a household name. Sale was an all-star for the White Sox in five straight years from '12-'16, and finished in the top six of the Cy Young voting in every one of those seasons. He led the league with four complete games in 2013 and punched out an American League-high 274 hitters in 2015. 

The White Sox have been incredibly blessed with right-handed run-producing first basemen over the last 30 or so years, as they pretty much rolled right from Frank Thomas to Paul Konerko to Jose Abreu. The middle name of that trio, Konerko, is unquestionably one of the faces of this franchise's history, a good soldier that went to battle night in and night out for a decade and a half. In 16 years with Chicago, the Providence, RI native slashed .281/.356/.491 with 432 homers and 1,383 RBI. He's second to Thomas on the club leaderboard in both of those categories but edged the "Big Hurt" in total bases with 4,010. Konerko made six all-star teams, was an ALCS MVP, and, most importantly, helped Chicago win the 2005 World Series, and the team rightfully retired his number 14 in 2015. 

Catcher Carlton Fisk split his career pretty evenly between Boston and Chicago, and it's fair to say he was a star no matter which color his Sox were--pun very much intended. In the Windy City, Fisk sported the tools of ignorance for 13 years, slashing .257/.329/.438 in the process. He made four all-star teams for the White Sox, earned three Silver Slugger awards, and helped the team reach the ALCS in 1983. Fisk was deservedly elected into Cooperstown in 2000. 

Most baseball fans, unfortunately, probably associated Shoeless Joe Jackson with the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal," in which eight members of the White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate. But let's not forget what kind of player Jackson really was between the lines. He played the last six seasons of his career with the White Sox, slashing .340/.407/.499 while doubling 139 times and leading the league in triples twice. He was consistently among the best average hitters in the game, almost never struck out--in fact he was struck out only 87 times in 2,802 at-bats while with Chicago, and always played excellent defense in center field. Jackson helped the White Sox win the World Series in 1917 and while what came later was unfortunate, I think it's important to to remember how good he actually was.