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HomeDepth ChartTransactionsMasthead MastheadMeet the Players!Links White Sox Web LinksSouth Side Sox standardsCommunity GuidelinesOdds Shop StubHub 鉁昑hanksgiving, 77 waysNew,9commentsOn this day where we’re all thankful for something, a tribute to the guy who introduced me to the White SoxByBrett Ballantini@BrettBallantiniNov 22, 2018,7:50am CSTShareTweetShareShareThanksgiving, 77 ways26th Men: We were warmed and ready to sub onto the 2005 playoff roster, with pregame drills in Armour Square Park.Well, I didn’t think there’d be any sort of special Thanksgiving Day post today, at all.And then, Thanksgiving started to creep up, and I figured it might be a chance to earn back some rah-rah points with the Chicago White Sox themselves. You know, make up for some of our harsher takes on the team this summer with a sweet, Hallmark card of a prose poem detailing Things We Love About the White Sox, or some such.So as I got to thinking, well, here’s something a little bit different. Perhaps it can be subtitled7s Are Wildbecause it’s not just Thanksgiving Day, in my life. It’s also my father’s 77th birthday. Our first game together came in the storied season of 1977, and, uh, I suppose you can see where this is going.It’s already been a weird year for this White Sox fan. In June, my mom passed away, during the worst season in my lifetime as a White Sox fan, a 100-loss abomination that I was forced by this gig to play closer attention to than any season http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , ever — even those when I was on the doggone White Sox beat, believe it or not.And now, by coincidence of calendar, Thanksgiving Day after a 100-loss season falls on my dad’s 77th.Have I told you before that this former Chet Lemonhead saw his first game in 1977? Yeah. Here’s the stub, bub:I mean, seriously, the thrills of that game, at eight years old, being one of the boys (my father dragged me as a fifth or sixth wheel, along with several members of the Highwood Postal Service and/or Police Department). Apologies for any editorial reruns here, but the thrill of seeing kielbasa clubber Richie Zisk hit a home run over the Comiskey Park roof ... watching a ball climb up, and up, and up, and ... just ... disappear ... was simply majestic.Of course, getting into something your dad loves is a surefire way to develop a lifetime love. But even if my dad wasn’t already my hero, well, seeing that home run, hearing the scoreboard and anxious, excited whispers of the fans around me trying to figure out what just happened (someone listening on a transistor radio to the play-by-play gave us the scoop on the over-the-roof) made me a White Sox fan, forever.Since that game, my dad and I have probably seen 100 or so games together — perhaps 100 in the two Sox Parks alone. One of our many ballgame traditions is playing catch at Armour Square Park beforehand:Mostly an excuse to use the photo slider function here, but here’s a couple of the many shots my dad and I have taken over the years in Armour Park, playing catch before ballgames. Both of these came during games in the 2005 playoff run. Side note: No one ever seems to want to pose with old-timey fake tobacco chaw in mouth, what’s up with that?Among these many games in Chicago were playoff games in 1983 Willie Stargell Jersey , 2000, 2005 and 2008. Don’t get ticked at us, but every playoff game we attended outside of 2005 were losses (thank goodness he was too chicken to go to the Blackout Game with me!).We also saw a ton of other highlight games, including both the Mark Buehrle no-hitter and perfect game. There were at least a few more roof shots, in the early 1980s, when the combination of the big bats of Greg Luzinski, Ron Kittle or Carlton Fisk, and home plate moving up 10 feet or so, made them more frequent. We saw Chris Singleton’s inside-the-park home run, Carlos Lee’s walk-off grand slam against the Chicago Cubs, Oscar Gamble’s left-handed White Sox season home run record, a few of the final Comiskey Park games, the abominable Comiskey II opener, and much more.But we’ve also traveled to nearly every major league city to see games. About the time our quest petered out, we had only Toronto, Oakland and Phoenix left to cross off on the list. Grid ViewGallery Key: 1. Fenway ca. 2000, prior to a particularly ribald Yankees-Red Sox game 2. Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (where I thought crab fries had real crab in them), part of a marathon Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Philly-Washington road trip 3. Carrying on the catch tradition (which we have done at all parks) in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium 4. Petco Park 5. Camden Yards, inaugural season 6. Pops in action, two Atlanta ballparks ago. 7. Candlestick Park, in the freezing frigging cold 8. Riverfront Stadium, Jah, Rastafari!Unfortunately, over the years http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-josh-bell-jersey , the two of us have grown apart, and hey, you know, that’s just how things go. It’s not the best development, especially for two guys bonded by baseball, and who seem to be having quite a bit of fun in all these photos. But life works in funny ways, and doesn’t always go the way you want it to. I’ve said it many times: We had a great run together.So, as this weird year of White Sox baseball winds down, I wanted to take time out to salute the guy who marveled at my memorization of all the White Sox (and every other player, seemingly) in the 1976 Topps baseball set; taught me to play baseball and worked out with me for years and years, first for a competitive Little League and high school edge, then just for kicks; bought me countless souvenirs, from piggy banks to batting gloves to endless yearbooks and programs; thrust himself fully to the superstitions and rituals of the White Sox pilgrimage, whether hitting the elotes stand for eats first or vociferously booing any and all manner of opponent successes.Pops bragged on (and embellished) me to no end, to anyone who would listen — and who doesn’t want that in a dad?Most simply put, my dad drew me to the White Sox in the first place, setting in motion a lot of my most cherished memories — and work experiences — to come.On this Thanksgiving, I am so very thankful for him.Happy 77, Pops.Oh hell, one more slider. Indulge me. WASHINGTON (AP) Nationals shortstop Trea Turner apologized to his teammates on Tuesday for homophobic and racially insensitive tweets he sent several years ago.An emotional Turner met with reporters following meeting with his teammates, coaches and manager Dave Martinez.”It’s not when I said the things I said. It’s that I said them at all,” the 25-year-old Turner said. ”That’s a clear learning point from this to make sure that anybody is aware of what they’re saying at all times. No matter how you use it or what context you think you are using it in, words hurt. It’s wrong and inexcusable for what I said.”The posts, from 2011 and 2012 when Turner was playing at N.C. State Felipe Vazquez Jersey , surfaced hours after Washington’s 5-0 loss at Miami on Sunday. Turner and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo issued statements of apology Sunday night, and the Nationals were off Monday.”I want to apologize to everybody that was affected by things that I said: LBGT community, African-American community, special needs community,” Turner said Tuesday. ”I’m truly sorry for what I said and I want to take full responsibility for that. I want to apologize to my teammates, I just talked to them, make sure that they know my thoughts and where I’m at.”Turner also shared his contrition with Rizzo, the Nationals and the team’s fans. Turner was applauded before his first at-bat against the Mets Tuesday night.The Washington shortstop was one of two players, along with Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb, who had their tweets unearthed Sunday by fans. Years-old racist, misogynist and homophobic tweets from Milwaukee Brewers All-Star pitcher Josh Hader were found during the All-Star Game.”We’ve seen three guys now in our league that have some old tweets surface like this, and I really hope it can be a learning experience and that people can grow from it because I know Trea. I know the man he is. I love him as a friend, as a teammate,” said Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle, who posted a series of tweets about the issue on Monday, saying he was disheartened to hear such language coming from major league players and offering his support to the LGBTQ community.”I really don’t think that those reflect who he is,” Doolittle said of Turner, ”but now he has the opportunity to demonstrate that growth and we have to give that space for him to be able to demonstrate that he’s grown and he’s changed since then.”Rizzo was asked what he would tell young players about using social media.”This is a cultural thing,” he said. ”It’s not about social media. It’s about people’s attitudes. Love one another. Treat others how you want to be treated. I think that rule is long-lasting and forever.”—