Priorities, Contd.

Say this for the Tribune—at least they mentioned the passing of ex-White Sox pitcher Eddie Fisher yesterday, something the team hasn’t bothered to do yet on their website. And, yes, it matters. First off, Fisher was the “big catch” in the deal that sent Sox great Billy Pierce to the Giants. In four full seasons with the Sox and parts of three others, Fisher made 286 appearances, all but 49 in relief. His best season was 1965, when he went 15-7 with a 2.40 ERA in 82 appearances, all in relief. Guess who threw a knuckleball, and guess who compared notes with teammate Hoyt Wilhelm? Yup, Fisher. Wilhelm came to the Sox at age 40 in 1963. Here are his ERAs in six years on the South Side: 2.64; 1.99; 1.81; 1.66; 1.31; and 1.73. Fisher and Wilhelm pitched together for 3-1/2 seasons, until Fisher was traded to the Orioles in June of 1966. The next year, the Sox went out and acquired another knuckleballer to pair with Wilhelm. Wilbur Wood seemed to do pretty well for himself. The White Sox front office is finally catching up in the analytics’ department. It’s all about drop, spin rate, and speed, which is why prospect Grant Taylor throwing a pitch yesterday at 101.2 mph was mentioned in both papers today. The knuckleball is so 20th century. Apparently, so is Eddie Fisher.