For years, Baldwin was an enigma to the Chicago White Sox. A 6' 3" right-hander in the classic power-pitcher mode, Baldwin arrived in the big leagues with a knee-buckling curveball and a serviceable fastball that often fell flat at the wrong moments. He showed promise in his rookie season of 1996, going 11-6 with a 4.42 ERA, but infuriated the club with his inconsistency over the next three years. After a disappointing sophomore campaign and an atrocious start to 1998, Baldwin was exiled to the bullpen for six weeks by manager Jerry Manuel. The relief stint helped him regain command of his curveball, and after rejoining the rotation in mid-June he closed the year on an 11-3 run with a 3.45 ERA in 17 starts. After his strong finish Chicago expected him to emerge as the staff ace in 1999, but Baldwin wound up reliving the sins of the previous year. A nagging tendency to leave pitches up in the strike zone produced high home run totals all season long. Before the All-Star break he won just four times against nine defeats, giving up more than six-and-a-half runs per nine innings. Baldwin rewarded Manuel's patience, however, with another second-half metamorphosis that saw him collect eight wins on the strength of a 3.62 ERA. The 2000 season would mark an odd reversal of fortune, as Baldwin bolted from the starting gate to emerge as one the American League's top starters the first two months of the season. His 11 wins in the first half not only earned him his first All-Star selection, but also helped the surprising White Sox open a big lead in the AL Central. But shoulder problems plagued him throughout the second half, limiting his effectiveness and ultimately sidelining from mid-August through late September. Baldwin returned just in time for post-season play, and delivered a valiant performance in Game Three of the Division Series at Seattle. He allowed the Mariners just three hits and one run over six innings, but Chicago lost the game and the series when Seattle scratched out a tie-breaking run in the bottom of the ninth. After the season Baldwin underwent surgery to remove a bone chip and repair fraying in his ailing shoulder. After being offered just a one-year contract in the offseason, Baldwin knew he wasn't going to be in the White Sox' long-term plans. When he got off to a poor start in 2001, as Chicago did as a whole, quickly falling behind the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians in the division, trade rumors began to swirl. The big righty entered mid-June mired with a 2-4 record and 4.36 ERA, and though over the next month and a half he went 5-1, Baldwin was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July for three minor leaguers. (AGL/AG)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 4, 1990:
The Braves wisely select Florida high school SS Chipper Jones with the first pick in the annual free-agent draft. The Tigers follow with Tony Clark and the Phils use the 3rd pick on Mike Lieberthal. The A's use their 14th choice to take the much sought after Todd Van Poppel, passed over because of his stated intention to pitch at the University of Texas. The A's change his mind and he signs on July 16th for $1.2 million. Picking 20th, the Orioles take Stanford's Mike Mussina. Late in the 6th round, the independent Class A Miami Miracle drafts Mike Lansing under a never-before-used rule. The rule will be abolished, but Lansing will play two years with the Miracle and make the majors with the Expos. Troy Percival (Angels) and Mike Hampton (Mariners) go in the 6th round, Rusty Greer (Rangers) in the 10th, and on the 12th round, the Twins take SS Pat Meares. The White Sox end up with the best draft, taking Alex Fernandez (1st round), Bob Wickman (2nd), Robert Ellis (3rd), James Baldwin (4th), Ray Durham (5th), Brandon Wilson (18th), and Jason Bere (36th). After selecting Carl Everett with the 10th overall pick, the Yanks pull two winners out of the low rounds: Andy Pettitte in the 20th round and Jorge Posada in the 24th.
»May 28, 1995: In a 14–12 White Sox win, the Tigers and Chicago combine to hit 12 home runs—7 by the Tigers—and 21 extra-base hits to set a major league and American League mark, respectively. The 2-teams combine to set a ML for extra bases on long hits (45), with Detroit contributing 24. The Sox start rookie James Baldwin (25 hits, 15 runs in 13.1 innings) and Detroit remainders him with a leadoff home run by Chad Curtis, a walk, single and 3-run homer by Cecil Fielder. Curtis and Fielder each homer in the 2nd to finish the rookie. The Sox sink David Wells with successive homers in the 4th by Durham, Karkovice, and Grebeck. Cecil Fielder, Chad Curtis, Kirk Gibson, and Ron Karkovice each homer twice, setting another AL mark for the most players with two home runs in a game. Ray Durham, Craig Grebeck, Frank Thomas, and Lou Whitaker also connect for 4-baggers. Detroit's Danny Bautista, anxious to join the home run derby, fans five times (on 18 pitches) in six at bats to tie another mark for a nine inning game
»August 17, 2000: The Orioles defeat the White Sox, 5–3. Chicago P James Baldwin ties an AL record by hitting four batters with pitches in the contest. Previously, he had hit only two in 154 innings.
»July 26, 2001:
The White Sox send P James Baldwin to the Dodgers for three minor leaguers—pitchers Onan Masaoka and Gary Majewski, and OF Jeff Barry.
»January 30, 2002:
The Mariners sign free agent P James Baldwin to a 1-year contract.
»May 2, 2002: The Mariners rout the White Sox by a score of 15–4 as OF Mike Cameron becomes the 13th player in ML history to slug four home runs in a single game, all solo shots. Cameron is also hit by a pitch and flies out to deep right in a bid for a 5th homer. Cameron and 2B Bret Boone also become the first teammates in history to hit back–to–back home runs twice in the same inning, performing the feat in Seattle's 10–run 1st inning. The duo waste little time putting their names into the record book. After Ichiro Suzuki is hit by a pitch leading off, Boone homers. Cameron follows with a drive off Jon Rauch that barely cleared the center–field wall and a leaping Kenny Lofton. Two outs later, Boone again homers on the first pitch, this time off reliever Jim Parque. Cameron goes to a full count, then homers to center again. The Mariners also tie a team record with seven homers in the game. James Baldwin is the easy winner, with seven innings pitched. There had only been 39 previous occasions of a player hitting two home runs in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Eric Karros was last to do it, on August 22, 2000, for Los Angeles. Mark McGwire was the previous American League player to do it, on September 22, 1996, for Oakland.
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