3 White Sox One-Hit Wonders We Wish Hadn't Disappeared

The Chicago White Sox went 88 years in between World Series titles, as the team struggled to make much of a dent in the American League standings for decades at a time. Every time the South Side finally thought they'd found their next star, they fizzled out after only one or two great seasons. These three White Sox should have had great pro careers, but they dissolved after just one or two seasons of quality production.

3. 3B Pete Ward

Pete Ward would have been a White Sox great / Mark Cunningham/Getty Images

This might be cheating just a tad, as Ward was technically a two-hit wonder, but that doesn't make his career any less disappointing. After a promising rookie campaign in 1963, Ward came in sixth in AL MVP voting in 1964 after he hit .282, launched 23 home runs, and drove in 94 runs while playing solid defense. Ward's prime ended soon after this season, as a back injury prevented him from ever topping .250 again. In the six seasons he played after the injury, he topped 15 home runs just once. Oh, what could have been if he stayed healthy.

2. 2B Tadahito Iguchi

Chicago White Sox second baseman Tadahito Iguchi / G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images

Iguchi started off his MLB career well enough, as he was the starting second baseman on a White Sox team that won the World Series. The Japanese star himself hit .271 with 15 home runs, just missing out on the Rookie of the Year Award. Unfortunately, he would never rival that fantastic rookie season, as he was traded to Philadelphia before the end of the 2007 season and bounced around the majors, with little success, before going back to Japan in 2009. Iguchi's career in Japan was much more successful, as he hit .270 with 251 home runs in the NPB. He is currently managing the Chiba Lotte Marines.

1. SP Philip Humber

Chicago White Sox starter Philip Humber / Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Humber only started 51 games in the MLB, but he made one of them in 2012 count. After posting a 3.75 ERA in 28 games in 2011, Humber pitched the 21st perfect game in MLB history when he blanked the Mariners in Seattle, striking out nine along the way. In a really tragic twist of fate, that one moment of brilliance would spell the end of Humber's time as a reliable starter, as he made just nine quality starts in 2012 and 2013 with the White Sox and Astros. After bouncing between the minors and Korea, Humber retired in 2016. A fairly ordinary career, sure, but Humber is still responsible for one of the greatest individual performances in MLB history.