15 worst trades in Chicago White Sox franchise history
By Eric Treuden
No. 5: Sammy Sosa and Ken Patterson to the Chicago Cubs for George Bell - March 1992
By the time Bell came over to the White Sox, his career was winding down. He had become a Toronto Blue Jays legend, winning the first MVP Award in franchise history and making two All-Star Game appearances as well.
Once he came to Chicago, he appeared in 257 games for the Sox, hitting 38 home runs with 176 RBI and an OPS+ of just 84. The White Sox were getting a completely different player than the Bell of years past.
Patterson had become a reliable relief pitcher for the White Sox prior to the trade, appearing in 145 games over four years with the club. He had a 3.70 ERA and 106 ERA+ in 216 innings as a White Sox before moving to the Cubs.
His career numbers never came close to what they were pre-trade, which helps a little bit, but he's not the big loss in this deal.
That would be Sosa, who emerged as one of the most fearsome power hitters the game of baseball has ever seen.
By now, everyone knows what he was able to accomplish as a member of the Cubs. Seven All-Star Games, six Silver Slugger Awards, the 1998 NL MVP Award, and much more. The loss of Sosa will forever go down as one of the harder ones for White Sox fans to swallow.