Today in White Sox History: July 23
1968
White Sox relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm appeared in both ends of a doubleheader vs. the Red Sox at Comiskey Park, and in doing so set the record for most appearances by a pitcher. The future Hall-of-Famer broke Cy Young’s record of 905 games. “Old Tilt” would appear in a staggering 1,070 games before he retired. Chicago would split the two games with the Red Sox.
1986
GM Ken "Hawk" Harrelson sent Bobby Bonilla to the Pirates for pitcher José De Leon. Bonilla, selected by the White Sox from Pittsburgh in the Major League draft mere months earlier in December 1985, showed flashes of brilliance in his half season on the South Side. He’d eventually turn into a dominant player with the Pirates, although he was a handful because of his attitude. DeLeon pitched well for the White Sox before eventually being swapped (by new GM Larry Himes) for Lance Johnson, who would go on to have a better career than Bonilla.
2009
It had only happened 17 times before, and on this day Mark Buehrle became the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game, when he shut down Tampa Bay, 5-0. Buehrle was helped in the top of the ninth inning when DeWayne Wise, a journeyman player, made the catch of his career by leaping above the wall in left-center to snare a ball hit by Gabe Kapler. On the way down he started to lose the ball, then snatched it out of the air with his other hand. Buehrle completed the task in 2:03, the exact same amount of time as his no-hitter in 2007. He became only the fourth pitcher to ever throw a perfect game and a no-hitter, joining Cy Young, Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson.
2016
It was certainly a strange and bizarre situation for the White Sox. Chris Sale, arguably the best pitcher in the American League and one of the best in baseball, went on a pregame rampage before his scheduled start against the Tigers at U.S. Cellular Field. Sale was upset that he had to wear a throwback pajama-style jersey as part of a promotion for the game, deeming it uncomfortable. So Sale decided to take matters into his own hands destroying all of the game jerseys the team was supposed to wear by cutting them up with scissors while the team was taking batting practice. He also reportedly said the White Sox were more concerned with public relations and uniforms than winning games.
He would be suspended for five games for the incident.