Every MLB team’s Mount Rushmore

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox have a fairly modern Mount Rushmore, led by two first basemen.

Frank “The Big Hurt” Thomas is one of the most feared hitters in MLB history. He tore apart major league pitching in the 1990’s and was the cover athlete for his own baseball game. Thomas is the franchise leader in offensive bWAR, home runs, on base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS, among other stats.

Paul Konerko spent all but 81 games of his career with the White Sox. He’s among the franchise leaders in many categories, including home runs, hits, RBIs and runs scored. Konerko is also the franchise leader in total bases. He’s easily one of the most popular players in franchise history, making a lot of bad years tolerable for fans.

Luke Appling was a Hall of Famer who spent his entire 20 season career with the White Sox. He’s the franchise’s all-time leader among position players in bWAR. Appling won two batting titles in 1936 and 1943. He’s the franchise leader in games played and hits, among other categories. Appling went to seven All-Star games during his storied career.

Red Farber is the greatest pitcher in franchise history. He led the American League in ERA twice during his career. Farber helped the White Sox overcome the embarrassment of the Black Sox scandal. Only Ted Lyons had more wins in the striped uniform than him.

This Big Hurt t-shirt is just what you need.

Honorable mentions: A lot of people think Mark Buehrle should be on this list. It might be an example of recency bias, but he might be the most popular player in franchise history. Also, Buehrle is on the Mount Rushmore of epic pitching performances, pitching in a World Series game while drunk. Ozzie Guillen has a pretty significant role in franchise history both as a player and a manager. Watching White Sox baseball without Hawk Harrelson‘s unapologetic homer announcing is like eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter.