Name the most random Silver Slugger in White Sox history.
It's a fun game to play with your pals at a bar or just hanging around at home. After all, putting your random trivia knowledge on display to impress your friends is a uniquely rewarding experience that all sports fans enjoy.
So using the prompt above could lead to some excellent entertainment as you watch your buddies rack their brains for oddball winners.
Of course, Frank Thomas and Jose Abreu will be mentioned first. As the last two White Sox MVPs, they're answers that a fan will feel obliged to mention, even if they're not random at all. Then might come mentions of A.J. Pierzynski and Alexei Ramirez-- each big names before the White Sox entered their rebuild era. Talk of the rebuild will likely lead to Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and plenty of sighing as memories surface of the failed core that led to another rebuild.
That's already seven Southside Silver Sluggers, and by now your pals are probably getting in a groove. Someone's likely to remember how Magglio Ordonez anchored a potent White Sox lineup in the early 2000s, or Jermaine Dye's incredible 2006 campaign following his World Series MVP performance.
Maybe talk of those two teams will lead someone to guess Carlos Lee and Jim Thome. Then it's your turn to say, "Actually, no, neither of those guys won the award in a White Sox uniform."
Someone will bring up Carlos Quentin, and there will be "ooohs" and "aaahs." But let's be honest, most fans who are old enough to have memories of 2008 remember Quentin's incredible debut season in Chicago. Same goes for Albert Belle and folks who recall his 79 home runs in two seasons for the White Sox after they made him the highest paid player in baseball history.
Eventually the conversation will peter out. That's your cue to hit them with the truly most random Silver Slugger winner in White Sox history:
Julio Franco.
That's right, the longtime legend who made a name for himself in Cleveland and Texas, the man who became the oldest player to ever hit a home run, played one season for the White Sox in 1994, and it was arguably the best of his 23-year career.
Julio Franco's career-best season with White Sox earned him surprising Silver Slugger
Franco was a cornerstone player in a lineup that featured White Sox greats like Thomas, Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura, Tim Raines and Lance Johnson. He slashed .319/.406/.510 that year, hit a career-high 20 home runs, and added another career-high 98 RBI.
For his efforts, Franco finished eighth in MVP voting, also a high water mark (Thomas took home the award that year). Franco could have won his first, and only, World Series ring in 1994 too, but a work stoppage cut the season short and the first-place White Sox never got the opportunity to prove themselves in the playoffs.
And, of course, Franco won the Silver Slugger award for the fifth and final time of his legendary career.