Sullivan: Start of new era on South Side
Could Luis Robert be the first Sox superstar of the TikTok era? Much like Frank Thomas’ call-up, this is the start of a new era on the South Side
Commentary: The call-up to the majors for White Sox prospect Luis Robert is drawing comparisons to Frank Thomas’ arrival in 1990. In 10 games Robert has proven himself to be a catalyst for the Sox.
Thirty years ago this week, the Chicago White Sox made the bold move of promoting Frank Thomas from Double-A Birmingham and inserting him in the middle of the lineup at the start of their playoff push.
It was a much different era, of course. The Sox didn't have to worry about delaying Thomas' debut to 1991 so they could get an extra year of his services before he became eligible for free agency.
All that mattered were three things: The Sox were 3½ games behind the Oakland A's in the American League West; they needed another bat in the lineup to have a realistic chance to win the division; and Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was always in go-for-it mode at the time.
So Thomas reported to County Stadium in Milwaukee on Aug. 2, 1990, where he and top Double-A pitching prospect Alex Fernandez made their debuts in the first game of a doubleheader against the Brewers. With third baseman Robin Ventura also in the lineup, the Sox had their last three first-round draft picks playing together.
“Statistically, that's pretty good,” said Reinsdorf, who had driven up to Milwaukee to watch the kids' debuts.
Thomas knocked out his first career hit — a two-run triple — the next day in a
6-2 win. One of his teammates pranked him by writing, “Don't believe the hype,” on Thomas' shower shoes, welcoming the rookie to life in the big-city spotlight.
While the mighty A's ultimately pulled away by September, Thomas lived up to the hype, hitting .330 with seven home runs, 31 RBIs and a .983 OPS in 60 games. The following year, his first full season with the Sox, Thomas cranked 32 home runs and drove in 109 runs while leading the league with a .452 on-base percentage and 1.006 OPS.
Numbers don't tell the entire story of The Big Hurt's drama-filled Sox career, but they earned him a first-ballot induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a retired number and a statue at Sox Park.
Thirty years can go by in a flash if you're not careful.
One day you look up, and all of a sudden you're watching Luis Robert — a do-it-all White Sox star for the TikTok era — making a statement he's finally here.
Like Thomas, the rookie center fielder is not messing around. In the first 10 games of the shortened 60-game season, he already has proven himself to be a catalyst on the major leagues' top-hitting team. We've seen video of him hitting a ball out of the park while falling down, and Robert's defensive range in center is basically foul pole to foul pole.
Robert moved into the leadoff spot Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., after an injury to shortstop Tim Anderson and collected four hits in his first game atop the order. On Monday, Robert celebrated his 23rd birthday with a pair of stolen bases in a 6-4 comeback win over the Brewers at Miller Park.
Will manager Rick Renteria turn Robert loose on the basepaths now that the kid is batting first, or will the computer geeks persuade Renteria to play it conservatively with a deep lineup behind Robert?
It's complicated.
With Nick Madrigal batting ninth and Robert first, the Sox have two potential base stealers hitting back to back. But stealing bases is not their game.
Robert, who has all three of his team's steals, swiped 36 bases in 47 attempts in the minors last year. But he also sprained his left thumb with a head-first slide in the spring of 2018 and missed two months, then jammed it again on a slide in an intrasquad game in the spring of 2019. By utilizing one of his best weapons, the Sox also could risk another hand injury.
Asked Sunday if Robert might get the green light in the leadoff spot, Renteria not surprisingly sidestepped the question.
“We’re still looking at a lot of the other aspects of his game: the types of leads, how he’s setting up, things of that nature,” he said.
Renteria must factor in pitchers’ times to the plate, he said, and catchers’ efficiency rates throwing out runners.
“So as people in the numbers game would say, it’d be foolish for me to run him into an out, especially with a guy who can throw the ball well across the diamond and the time that they are putting to the plate,” Renteria said.
“Are there going to be times when he’s going to be able to steal bases? Absolutely. Whether he’s leading off or hitting sixth or seventh or eighth, it really doesn’t matter. He’s got the type of speed that you want him to continue to develop that base-stealing skill.
So there’s still some things we’re looking at and we’re studying to make sure we’re able to maximize and capitalize on that speed.”
Keep studying, Sox.
Meanwhile, with Carlos Rodon joining Reynaldo Lopez on the injured list and Michael Kopech on the opt-out list, the Sox need to win games with a thin rotation and a relatively young bullpen. Scoring a lot of runs may be the only answer.
So far it’s working out. The Sox entered Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee leading the majors in hitting
(.286) while ranking third in OBP (.347) and slugging percentage (.464). In comparison, they were eighth in hitting in 2019 (.261), 23rd in OBP (.314) and 25th in slugging (.414).
New hitting coach Frank Menechino can take some credit, though the maturity of the young core and hot starts by Robert, Yoan Moncada and Leury Garcia also have made a big difference.
While 10 games may be a small sample size, it’s one-sixth of this season. Making the numbers more impressive is the fact the Sox are doing it in a season dominated by pitching. The major-league batting average entering Tuesday was an abysmal .233 with a .315 OBP and .396 slugging percentage. This Sox lineup is deep — and leading the majors in hitting is no fluke.
“It certainly bodes well for the talent we have on the club,” Renteria said. “It speaks to what they’re capable of doing. Certainly, it speaks to Frankie. We have a lot of young stars that had a lot of success over the last year and we’ve continued to add pieces that are talented and are doing very, very well.
“It’s a 10-game stint and I hope to see it throughout the rest of the year and coming years, certainly. But I’m not one of those guys that’s going to get too high and get too low. I’m going to expect that we’ll run nice and even, and hopefully when it’s all said and done, we’ll still see ourselves where you’re talking about right now. But it’s certainly an optimistic and a very positive place we’re in.”
It feels a lot like 1990, the start of a new White Sox era.
Don’t blink.