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Who was more valuable to the White Sox: Robin Ventura or Joe Crede?
Which outfielder would you rather have in your all-time Sox lineup: Jermaine Dye or Shoeless Joe Jackson?
Is Luis Aparicio the greatest shortstop the Windy City has ever known?
More importantly, which Chicago White Sox player had the greatest ever offensive season at his position?
Major League Baseball has been asking fans this question in an effort to choose each team's best collection of stars. They are calling it MLB 9s.
Here I separated the contenders from the pretenders in an effort to pick my dream White Sox lineup. Have your say by commenting below, or by voting on the MLB site here.
Other MLB 9s you might want to check out are:
Catcher: Carlton Fisk (1983)
Fisk hit 26 home runs, drove in 86 batters, and scored 85 runs during the ’83 season.
His 26 home runs are the second most all-time by a White Sox backstop (behind his own record of 37 set two years later), while his RBI tally is also good enough for second place within the franchise.
He stole nine bases and batted .289, which is what makes his ’83 season stand out from the crowd. It is the fourth best by any White Sox’s catcher in history, and it was second all-time, until AJ Pierzynski broke it first in 2006 and then again in 2009.
Fisk, aged 35, finished third in the AL MVP voting, losing out to the Baltimore duo of Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray.
Highlight Game: July 12, 1983 vs Cleveland. In his only multi-homer game of the ’83 season, Fisk went deep twice against the Indians in an 8-0 shutout.
Competition: I think Sherm Lollar had the second best offensive season by a White Sox’s catcher. In 1959 he hit 22 home runs, recorded 84 RBI, and batted .265. If his average was even slightly higher, I would probably have given him the nod over Fisk just because he was playing in an era when the home run wasn’t as prevalent.
Pierzynski’s 2006 season—which featured 16 home runs, 65 runs, and 64 RBI was also impressive for a catcher.
First Base: Frank Thomas (1993)
The ‘Big Hurt’ won his first of back-to-back MVP awards in 1993, powering 41 home runs and 128 RBI.
While the then 25-year-old didn’t lead the American League in any single category, his .607 slugging percentage ranked third, his .426 OBP ranked fourth, and his 41 jacks were good enough for a spot in the top three.
Thomas also hit 36 doubles and walked 112 times, striking out just 54 times—rare for a hitter with that much power.
Frank Thomas’ following season certainly would have been even better, had the season not been cut short with a players’ strike with Thomas in the running for the Triple Crown.
Highlight Game: July 27, 1993 vs Cleveland. Thomas hit two home runs and drove in five batters in a 4-for-4 showing at home to the Indians.
Competition: Dick Allen is a close second for the greatest single offensive season. He hit 37 homers and batted .308 during the 1972 season, in which he had 119 RBI, 90 runs, and 19 steals.
Second Base: Eddie Collins (1923)
Batting .360 and stealing 48 bases, Collins is my pick at second base. Bettered in the MVP race by only Babe Ruth, Collins led the league in steals for the third time in his career, scoring 89 times and batting in 67.
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