White Sox: The Mount Rushmore of Sox closers

After filling up a second outfield Mount Rushmore on Saturday, our run through a set of positional top-fours by position for the Chicago White Sox takes its first of three trips to the mound.

We start with the closers, understanding that is a role that has evolved since the institution of the save as an official statistic in 1969. It had been first developed by Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman in the early 1960s.

In the early years of the White Sox franchise, there wasn’t such thing as a closer. There were four starters who completed nearly all of their games and a few guys to pitch in relief if the starters faltered.

It was a trend that continued well into the 1970s — if a pitcher couldn’t cut it as a starter, only then was he considered as a reliever. When the save first came into vogue, the closer was more often referred to as a fireman. Why a fireman? Because he was the guy the manager turned to when there was a fire to be put out.

It was not uncommon for the fireman to be asked to get six, eight, 10 or more outs, based on when the situation in the game got dicey. But over time, managers began to play to the statistic, keeping their closer only for ninth-inning situations with a three-run lead or less. If it wasn’t a save situation, someone else usually got the call.

Thus the era of bullpen specialization was born, and we will delve into middle relievers/setup men in another segment.

The criteria to be considered for inclusion on the White Sox Mount Rushmore of closers? More than half of a pitcher’s appearances had to be as a reliever and he had to accumulate at least 50 saves for the club. There was one exception to this noted below, which left 12 pitchers to examine.

• Clint Brown (1936-40)
• Ed Farmer (1979-81)
• Terry Forster (1971-76)
• Keith Foulke (1997-2002)
• Roberto Hernandez (1991-97)
• Bob James (1985-87)
• Bobby Jenks (2005-10)
• Addison Reed (2011-13)
• David Robertson (2015-17)
• Bobby Thigpen (1986-93)
• Hoyt Wilhelm (1963-68)
• Wilbur Wood (1967-70)*

*NOTE: Wood spent four years as a reliever and eight as a starter for the White Sox and his career stats have been split into those two sections.

There is likely to be a surprise on this list, but the examination went beyond just comparing total number of saves.

Mount Rushmore of White Sox closers: Keith Foulke

Keith Foulke didn’t enter professional baseball on a star track, taken by the San Francisco Giants as a ninth-round pick out of off-the-beaten-path Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho in 1994.

By 1997, Foulke was trying to carve out a spot in the Giants’ rotation when he was moved as part of a nine-player deal with the Chicago White Sox at the non-waiver trade deadline at the end of July.

After the trade, Foulke never made another start in the major leagues and it worked out just fine for him. He spent the rest of 1997 and all of 1998 as a setup man, gradually getting more opportunities to close behind Bob Howry in 1999.

In 2000, the roles reversed, with Foulke saving 34 games as Chicago won the AL Central title in 2000 and coming back with 42 saves in 2001.

In 2002, Foulke lost the closer’s role in June and wound up with just 11 saves, one of three relievers on the staff to record at least 10 that season.

That December, Foulke was involved in a six-player trade with the Oakland Athletics that brought Billy Koch, who had just saved 44 games, to the White Sox. Koch never clicked in Chicago.

Foulke later signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 2004 and was the closer for their 2004 World Series champion club, but retired due to chronic injury problems before the 2007 season. He came back briefly with the Athletics in 2008.

In parts of six seasons with the White Sox, Foulke saved 100 games in 118 chances while posting a 2.87 ERA and 0.991 WHIP. He struck out 8.6 batters per nine innings and walked just 2.1 per nine over his 446 innings for the club.

Mount Rushmore of White Sox closers: Roberto Hernandez

The California Angels used the 16th overall pick to select right-hander Roberto Hernandez out of the University of South Carolina-Aiken in 1986 and it would take awhile for the big guy to figure things out. Born in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez moved to New York when he was 2 and graduated from high school in New Hampshire.

He then attended both the University of Connecticut and USC-Aiken.

Like just about every pitcher drafted in that era, Hernandez was made a starter. In August 1989, the Angels traded Hernandez and a minor-league outfielder Mark Doran to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Mark Davis, who would eventually get two at-bats for California in 1991. So, spoiler alert, the Sox won the trade.

Hernandez was called up when the rosters expanded in September 1991 and made three starts. He was dazzling in his debut, allowing one hit over seven innings in a 5-1 win over the Kansas City Royals. But after he was lit up for nine runs, seven earned, in just 4.1 innings in his next two appearances, Hernandez was sent to the bullpen.

He never went back to the rotation and by 1992, he was getting save opportunities as Bobby Thigpen became less effective less than two years removed from setting a single-season record for saves with 57.

The roles reversed in 1993, with Hernandez saving 38 games for the AL West Division champions. He saved 38 games again in 1996, earning his first All-Star nod. As part of the cycle of closer life, Hernandez was traded in July 1997 to the San Francisco Giants in the deal that brought future closer Keith Foulke to Chicago.

Hernandez had staying power, closing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Kansas City Royals through the 2002 season and working five more years for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers in a setup role until he was 42, retiring after the 2007 season.

In parts of seven seasons with the White Sox, Hernandez saved 161 games in 197 opportunities, with a 2.87 ERA and 1.223 WHIP in 404.2 innings over 345 appearances. He struck out 9.1 batters per nine innings, while walking 3.5 per nine.

Mount Rushmore of White Sox closers: Hoyt Wilhelm

Hoyt Wilhelm came to the Chicago White Sox in a six-player trade with the Baltimore Orioles in January 1963, but no one could have predicted a pitcher that would turn 41 during the season would give the White Sox six terrific years out of the bullpen.

Wilhelm saved 99 games from 1963-68, including 27 in 1964, when he had a 1.99 ERA in 131.1 innings out of the bullpen (it was a different time, to be sure).

In October 1968, the White Sox left Wilhelm unprotected in the expansion draft and he was selected by the Kansas City Royals.

Wilhelm got a late start in the majors. He didn’t debut until April 1952 in what was his age-29 season, following seven years in the minors interrupted by a three-year stint in the Army, seeing combat in Europe and receiving the Purple Heart after he was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge.

He spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants and also played with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians before going to the Orioles during the 1958 season.

After leaving Chicago, Wilhelm pitched with the California Angels, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was released by the Dodgers July 21, 1972, just five days shy of his 50th birthday and was the first pitcher in major league history to appear in more than 1,000 games.

In six seasons with the White Sox — his longest stay anywhere during his career — he posted a 1.92 ERA and 0.935 WHIP in 675.2 innings over 361 games. Not a power pitcher — his No. 1 pitch was always a knuckleball — he struck out 6.9 batters per nine innings for Chicago, walking 2.2 per nine.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, his eighth year of eligibility, and became the first pitcher used primarily in relief to earn that honor. He died in August 2002, just after his 80th birthday.