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The Chicago White Sox are in a down period in their history. Last season, they set the record for the most losses in a season in the modern era. The modern era started in 1901, and the White Sox started using that name just a few years later, in 1904. Prior to that, they were known as the Chicago White Stocking, the St. Paul Saints, and the Sioux City Cornhuskers. In 2024, they lost 121 games, officially making themselves the worst team baseball has ever seen.
Unfortunately, despite a long and storied history, the White Sox have been pretty average throughout their time in MLB. In fact, they have a career winning percentage of .499. The team has also only won three World Series titles, with those championships coming in 1906, 1917, and 2005. None of that changes the fact that the White Sox have been around for a long time and have had plenty of legendary players suit up for them, though. So, check out the gallery to see the 10 greatest White Sox players of all time.
1. Frank Thomas, 1990-2005
Frank Thomas, nicknamed The Big Hurt, is one of the biggest physical specimens to ever grace the sandlot. The White Sox's record books are filled with Thomas' name. He leads the organization in home runs (448), RBIs (1,465), on-base % (.427), and slugging % (.568).
Thomas ranks 20th in MLB history with 521 career homers, and he was one of the scariest hitters for opposing pitchers to face due to his daunting size and unmatched power. Thomas' resume includes five All-Star nods, two AL MVP awards, four Silver Slugger trophies, and the 1997 batting title. There is even a case to be made that Thomas' MVP-winning seasons weren't his best years and that he should have been named the best player in baseball two or three more times.
2. Luke Appling, 1930-43, 1945-50
Nobody has played in more games for the White Sox than Luke Appling. With 2,422 games in the black and white jerseys to his name, Appling is one of three players to surpass the 2,000-game threshold for the team. His 77.2 WAR during that time is by far the best mark in franchise history.
The shortstop is first in franchise hits (2,749), and he ranks inside of the top 10 in RBIs (1,116), on-base % (.399), and batting average (.310). Appling seemed to get better with age, and had he not had to take time off for World War II, his stats may have looked even better. Appling won two batting titles during his career.
3. Ted Lyons, 1923-42, 1946
Ted Lyons is the best pitcher in White Sox history. He won 260 games with the team, and he even threw 356 complete games. Lyons is such an important figure in White Sox history because of how long he stuck around with the team. Lyons led the AL in wins as early as 1925, and he stuck around to be the AL ERA leader in 1942.
Despite being passed the age of 40, Lyons had his best season in 1942. He still chose to fight in World War II during the next baseball season despite being past the military draft age. Lyons was a great player, but he can't rank higher than the two players above him on this list because his White Sox teams were pretty bad. In fact, Lyons never appeared in a postseason game during his lengthy MLB career.
4. Eddie Collins, 1915-26
Eddie Collins was a winner who spent his prime with the White Sox. All in all, he won six World Series championships. Unfortunately, only one of those came with the White Sox, as the rest came with the Philadelphia Athletics. Still, the White Sox have only won the title three times, and the 1917 iteration of the team was arguably the best.
That means Collins was a part of the Black Sox era. In 1919, the White Sox fixed games during the World Series as a part of a gambling scheme, but more on that later. Luckily, Collins was a part of the “Clean Sox” and didn't partake in any wrongdoing.
As a player, Collins was the ultimate competitor. He played with high energy and intensity. The second baseman was best on the basepaths, as three of his four seasons leading the AL in steals came during his White Sox tenure.
5. Nellie Fox, 1950-63
Nellie Fox went to the All-Star Game in 12 of his 14 seasons with the White Sox. He was also the AL MVP in 1959, the same year that the “Go Go' White Sox won the pennant. Fox was small in stature, but he worked hard and did all of the little things to ensure his team could win. Fox was excellent on defense at second base, and he was a great contact hitter.
6. Paul Konerko, 1999-2014
With such a long and rich history, a lot of the best White Sox ever played before anybody reading this was even born. Paul Konerko stands out as a modern star. First base has long been the White Sox's best position. Thomas dominated in the '90s, and Jose Abreu was great in the 2010s-20s. Konerko was sandwiched in between the two.
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After not winning a title since 1917, Konerko won the 2005 ALCS MVP before leading his team to World Series championship glory. The six-time All-Star ranks first or second in most major batting categories for the team, including in home runs (432), hits (2,470), total bases (4,010), and RBIs (1,383).
7. Minnie Minoso, 1951-57, 1960-61, 1964, 1976, 1980
Minnie Minoso certainly has one of the weirdest careers in MLB history. Minoso's professional baseball career started in the Negro Leagues with the New York Cubans. He then became the first black Cuban in MLB with the Cleveland Indians. His prime came with the White Sox, but he eventually went back to the Indians before then eventually going back to the White Sox.
After brief stints with the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators, Minoso played his last full season with the White Sox in 1964 before he retired. However, Minoso would return to action for Chicago 12 years later for a brief stint where he became the fourth oldest MLB player to record a hit at age 52. Minoso wouldn't play again until four years later when he suited up as a 56-year-old, making him the fourth oldest MLB player ever. Overall, Minoso played for the White Sox in four different decades.
Including his time in the Mexican League, minor leagues, Negro Leagues, and MLB, Minoso was one of only nine players to surpass 4,000 career hits. All-time MLB greats, including Pete Rose, Ichiro Suzuki, Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Derek Jeter, Jigger Statz, Julio Franco, and Stan Musial are the other player who did that. Two of Minoso's three Gold Gloves came with the White Sox, and all three of his AL stolen base titles were when he was in the prime of his career with the team.
8. Shoeless Joe Jackson, 1915-20
Shoeless Joe Jackson has one of the best nicknames ever. He earned that nickname because he literally didn't wear shoes in one at-bat. Jackson was one of the best players in the league during his time with the White Sox, evidenced by him being the team's WAR leader in both their 1917 World Series victory and when the team made it back to the World Series two years later.
Unfortunately, that 1919 World Series is the biggest stain on his career. Jackson was banned from baseball along with seven other players because they were accused of taking money to throw games. There are disputes about Jackson's involvement in the scandal. After all, he didn't register an error and had a record-breaking 12 base hits in the series. That number wouldn't be surpassed until 1964. Still, the Black Sox era, which prematurely ended Jackson's playing days, will be a forever looming cloud over what was otherwise a fantastic career.
Jackson's Chicago career wasn't as long as the rest of the players on this list, and it ended on a sour note, but he was dominant on the diamond with the team. Jackson's .340 batting average is the best in franchise history.
9. Red Faber, 1914-33
Another player who played in the 1910s was Red Faber. The pitcher did not take part in the Black Sox scandal. In fact, the scandal allegedly only took place because Faber, who was the ace of the squad, couldn't pitch in the series due to an illness. Had he played, history likely would have looked a lot different.
Any White Sox pitching record that doesn't belong to Lyons probably belongs to Faber, and he even has the edge in a few stats. Faber threw 1,471 strikeouts, had 254 wins, and completed 273 games with the team. Faber is most known for his spitball, which was a legal pitch at the time.
10. Mark Buehrle, 2000-11
There have only been 24 perfect games in MLB history. One of them came when Mark Buehrle was throwing for the White Sox. That wasn't the only memorable moment for the southpaw in the South side, though. In Chicago, Buehrle won a championship, went to four All-Star Games, won three Gold Gloves, and even had an additional no-hitter. Buehrle was uber-consistent throughout his career. He made at least 30 starts in every season for 15 straight years.
