The White Sox' first draft pick in 1982, Karkovice hit four homers in 97 at-bats in his 1986 call-up. The cannon-armed catcher was handed Carlton Fisk's job in 1987 but hit just .071 in 39 games, struck out 40 times in 85 at-bats, and was sent down. Under new batting coach Walt Hriniak, he improved to .264 in 1989, although at the expense of his power.
Karkovice finally emerged from Fisk's shadow in 1992 and the following season deftly handled a surprising pitching corps led by young firebrand Jack McDowell. Torn knee cartilage in '94 ended his season in July, but he returned to form in '95. Karkovice threw out just 32% of opposing basestealers that season, an abnormally low rate, but much of the blame fell on the achingly deliberate pitching of right-hander Jason Bere.
Despite an average that at best hovered around the .220 mark, Karkovice remained the club's primary catcher until Jorge Fabregas was acquired in May 1997. He retired after the season, one of the few players in the free-agent era to spend his entire career with a single team.
A surprisingly nimble backstop early in his career, Karkovice legged out an inside-the-park grand slam in Minnesota in 1990 and was sometimes used as a pinch runner, unusual for a catcher. (SFS/JGR)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»August 30, 1990:
Minnesota CF John Moses misplays a long drive by Ron Karkovice, and the White Sox catcher ends up with an inside-the-park grand slam. That's all the scoring Jack McDowell needs as the Sox win, 4–3.
»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
»March 31, 1996:
In the earliest Opening Day ever, the Mariners sail past the White Sox in 12 innings, 3–2 in Seattle. Randy Johnson sticks out 14 Sox in seven innings, but serving up a 2-run homer to Frank Thomas. Five M's pitchers strike out 21 batters, including Ron Karkovice five times, while the Sox use seven pitchers in the loss. The American League unveiled its new colorful red polo shirts for the umpires, part of the "What a Game" campaign to lure fans back to the parks. The last sartorial change was in the 1970s when AL umps wore red blazers for several years. Al umps will wear red and blue polo shirts for the season; National League umps will stick with traditional blue.
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