For Hawk Harrelson, eight decades in professional baseball would be great
SoxFest is in the books, and for the most part, fans that filled the Hilton Chicago over the weekend were quite supportive of the club's overdue decision to rebuild.
During a seminar Saturday morning, one Chicago White Sox fan went so far as to tell general manager Rick Hahn he should be wearing a mask after getting top pitching prospects Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning from the Washington Nationals in a trade for outfielder Adam Eaton.
Giolito, Lopez, Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech and homegrown prospects such as Zack Collins, Zack Burdi and Spencer Adams all will be in major-league camp when spring training opens Feb. 14 in Glendale, Arizona.
As we wait for baseball to build back up, let's take a final look at some SoxFest highlights.
Hawk talk:
There are plenty of new faces on the roster, and Rick Renteria is the White Sox's new manager.
But a very familiar face returns to the TV booth: Hawk Harrelson will be back for his 33rd season broadcasting Sox baseball.
The 75-year-old Harrelson is calling mainly road games for the second straight year, and he wants to keep working through the 2020 season.
Why 2020?
"Four more years will put me in a very select group that's been in professional baseball for eight decades," Harrelson said. "Vin (Scully) was in eight decades, Don Zimmer was in there eight decades, Dave Garcia was in there. There's probably only four or five guys in that group, in that club, so to speak."
Harrelson also wants his grandchildren to hear him broadcast White Sox games.
On May 13, the first 20,000 fans at the Sox's game against the San Diego Padres get a talking Harrelson alarm clock.
Back in business:
Infielder Tyler Saladino said his lower back has healed up and he's 100 percent healthy heading into spring training.
Saladino missed the final two weeks of last season with a herniated disk in his back. He had an epidural in late September.
"The epidural calmed it all down," said Saladino, who avoided surgery. "It's good now."
Back issues can be brutal for major-league players, but Saladino feels confident he has the problem under control.
"October was all physical therapy, and in November it was physical therapy and the gym," Saladino said. "I also concentrated on my core in the gym and never realized there are so many other exercises and stretches that need to be done to keep your back strengthened. After the pain I felt at the end of last season, I'm motivated to keep it strong."
Remembering Sale:
Before being traded to Boston, Chris Sale had some memorable run-ins with the front office and former manager Robin Ventura.
But the ace left-hander was well liked by most of his teammates and he'll be missed.
"Chris is a guy that took me under his wing," Carlos Rodon said. "We got along great. He's a good friend of mine, a mentor. He showed me the ropes, the ins and outs of the clubhouse and whatnot.
"It's tough to see him go, but he's on to better things. It's been a win-win for both these organizations, the Red Sox and the White Sox. They get Chris and we get some real good talent. Same thing with (Adam) Eaton. We get some good talent and move Eaton. Those two are on to better things and we're making something."
Familiar face:
New starting pitching prospect Lucas Giolito didn't know many of his new teammates when SoxFest opened Friday, but he did recognize Carson Fulmer, the White Sox's first-round draft pick (No. 8 overall) in 2015 out of Vanderbilt.
"Carson Fulmer has impressed me," said Giolito, acquired from the Nationals in the Adam Eaton trade. "I remember watching him when he was in college and I played with him a little bit throughout the summers, junior and senior year of high school, at showcases and whatnot."