Next Week, Long Ago

Next week, we’ll see just how good a judge of talent new White Sox GM Chris Getz is when he attends the winter meetings in Nashville. May the spirit of Frank “Trader” Lane be with him. Until then, I’ll be keeping a watch on the mail for two Sox-related items I bought on eBay. Back in the early ’90s, my sister Betty bought me a throwback Sox jacket from the 1959 season; I literally wore it out close to fifteen years ago. Then, last week a ’59 jacket went up for sale. These are usually in jumbo sizes, the “mediums” probably getting passed down from generation to generation. After some back and forth with the seller, I was able to knock $70 off the price; the arm-and-a-leg price became just an arm. Rumor has it the jacket arrives tomorrow. Here’s hoping. Yesterday, with an all-day snow delighting my grandson, I happened on a 1972 team-autographed ball. Again, I went into bidding mode and managed a decent price for twenty-nine autographs, pitching coach Johnny Sain doing the honors twice. The ball should be arriving sometime around Thursday. What I love about autographed balls is that they represent a snapshot of that particular season. Not only do I get autographs by Dick Allen and Tony Muser, but Ed Spiezio and Eddie Fisher, too. Fisher’s means the ball was signed sometime after August 17th, when the Sox reacquired the knuckleballer. There’s also Don Neumeier, the pride of Shawano, Wisconsin. Neumeier pitched three games, his major-league total, in September. So, now I know a general date. You can’t beat baseball archeology, especially in the last week of November.