Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Ron Santo / White Sox

In December of 1973, after fourteen seasons, ten all star games, and borderline hall of fame stats with the Chicago Cubs -- Ron Santo was traded south to play for the White Sox. In exchange, the Sox sent catcher Steve Swisher, future Cy Young awardee Steve Stone, and two other prospects north for the washed-up Santo. The plan was to insert him as their Designated Hitter in a lineup that already featured Carlos May, Bill Melton and Dick Allen. The only problem was that Ron Santo did not want to be a DH, he wanted to play in the field. The Sox already had Melton at third, so manager Chuck Tanner had to juggle him around. Tanner even tried to turn him into a second-baseman, which didn't work. Santo played 117 unhappy games (61 in the field) with the Sox, hitting .221 with 5 HRs, both were career lows. He retired the following off-season.

For the record, this was a black and white image I colorized. I could not find any decent Ron Santo on the Sox color pictures. If you have one and/or know where I can find one, let me know.