"It felt a little like my first day in the big leagues," Sheldon said. "You're kind of a little nervous. Some guys made it very special out there by going along with this."
The Rangers had planned to have Sheldon play all nine positions next week at home. But after the White Sox jumped to a huge early lead, Rangers manager Johnny Oates decided tonight would be a good night to do it.
The idea was hatched in spring training when Sheldon played eight positions in an exhibition game against Oklahoma, the Rangers' Class AAA team.
"I warned (White Sox manager) Jarry Manuel that I was going to do it and I wasn't trying to embarrass any of their players," Oates said. "I thought this was the best way to handle it. I was very happy for him and he also told me he had been getting pitching lessons from (reliever John) Wetteland."
After entering the game behind the plate in the fourth, Sheldon began his tour of the infield in the fifth, playing first and second. He started the seventh at shortstop, then played right field and center field in the seventh.
Sheldon open the eighth in left field before taking the mound to face Liefer. Jeff Kunkel and Canseco are the only other position players to pitch for the Rangers.
"(Catcher) Randy Knorr and I had no signs," Sheldon said. "All we planned to do was fastball and change up. That's it. At one point, he even shook me off to make it look like we had something planned."
It marked only third time that a player played all nine positions in a game. Shortstop Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics was the first to accomplish it on September 8, 1965.
"It shows that their kid is very versatile," White Sox manager Jerry Manuel said.
"Nobody in the stands realized that history was being made," Oates noted. "There was no announcement, no nothing."
After suffering consecutive one-run losses to the Rangers, the White Sox took out their frustrations early. They remained 6 1/2 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central Division.
Frank Thomas and Magglio Ordonez homered in a seven-run first inning off Rick Helling (14-11), who retired just two batters in the shortest outing of his career. Greg Norton belted a three-run shot off Brian Sikorski in the second to give the White Sox a 10-1 cushion.
Charles Johnson also went deep for the White Sox. The four homers gave them a franchise-record 109 at home this season. Thomas took over the American League lead with his 41st.
"It's nice to have a breakout game after the last couple of days," said White Sox center fielder Chris Singleton, who had three hits. "Frank started it early."
The early outburst made it an easy night for rookie Kip Wells (5-7), who earned his first win since June 19 against Cleveland. Recalled from Class AAA Charlotte Orleans on Tuesday, Wells gave up one unearned run and four hits in seven innings with a walk and four strikeouts.
"I enjoyed my time in Charlotte but I didn't want to be there more than anyone else," Wells said. "I knew if I pitched to the best of my ability, I'd get back up here and that's what drove me."
"He came out of spring training as the No. 2 guy on the staff and we told him that it's a matter of him getting confidence in himmelf and tonight he threw the ball well," Manuel added. "The fact that we scored early and often probably helped him as well."
Helling retired the leadoff hitter in the first, getting Ray Durham to foul out. But Jose Valentin walked and came home on Thomas' two-run homer over the left-field fence. Ordonez followed with a solo shot, marking the sixth time he and Thomas have hit back-to-back homers this year. It was Thomas' 79th career first-inning blast.
The onslaught continued as Singleton reached Helling for a two-run single that made it 5-0. Durham chased Helling with a two-run double in his second at-bat of the inning.
"I guess it's possible, but I don't feel any different than in the past," said Helling, when asked if he has a tired arm. "There's no excuse. I'm just not getting the job done and I haven't the last two starts."
In the second, Sikorski struck out Thomas and Ordonez, but gave up a single to Carlos Lee and walked Paul Konerko. Norton homered over the fence in right-center field to give Chicago a 10-run bulge.
"It was my fault that I let the game get out of hand by leaving Helling in to face too many batters," Oates said.
Texas got its only run on Michael Lamb's RBI grounder in the second.
"I don't feel like throwing one decent game solidifies anything but I feel like I did my job and now for the most part it's a matter of consistency," Wells said.
"Kip pitched a very good ballgame," Johnson added. "He was aggressive in the strike zone and he focused on the hitters. I thought he did a great job."
Johnson's two-run homer off Sikorski made it 12-1 in the fifth
before the White Sox completed the scoring on Konerko's RBI
single in the sixth.
TEXAS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Catalanotto 2b-1b-2b 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .309
Curtis lf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .277
Knorr c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R Palmeiro 1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .280
Waszgis c-1b 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .231
Kapler cf-rf 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .288
Ledee rf-lf-cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .229
Sierra dh 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .250
Haselman c 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .272
Sheldon c-1b-ss-2b-rf-
cf-lf-p-3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .284
Lamb 3b 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 .280
Valdes lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133
Dransfeldt ss-2b-ss 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .125
Totals 31 1 4 1 1 6 11
BATTING: RBI - Lamb (43). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Dransfeldt 2. GIDP - Ledee. Team LOB - 4.
FIELDING: E - Haselman (4, throw). DP: 1 (Dransfeldt-Catalanotto-Waszgis).
CHI WHITE SOX ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
Durham 2b 4 0 1 2 0 0 0 .284
Graffanino 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .280
Jose Valentin ss 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .288
C Wilson ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .306
F Thomas dh 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 .335
a-Je Abbott ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .271
M Ordonez rf 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 .325
Liefer rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Ca Lee lf 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 .302
b-M Christensen ph-cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Konerko 1b 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 .302
Norton 3b 3 2 1 3 1 1 2 .261
Singleton cf-lf 4 2 3 2 0 0 0 .253
C Johnson c 4 1 2 2 0 1 2 .295
Paul c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .258
Totals 36 13 13 13 5 6 10
a-grounded to shortstop for F Thomas in the 8th; b-flied to left
for Ca Lee in the 8th.
BATTING: 2B - Durham (34, Helling). HR - F Thomas (41, 1st
inning off Helling 1 on, 1 out); M Ordonez (27, 1st inning off
Helling 0 on, 1 out); Norton (6, 2nd inning off Sikorski 2 on,
2 out); C Johnson (27, 5th inning off Sikorski 1 on, 2 out). RBI -
F Thomas 2 (129), M Ordonez (111), Singleton 2 (56), Durham 2 (67),
Norton 3 (27), C Johnson 2 (78), Konerko (82). 2-out RBI - Durham 2,
Norton 3, C Johnson 2, Konerko. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Jose Valentin 1, Norton 1. GIDP - C Wilson. Team LOB - 4.
BASERUNNING: SB - Ca Lee (11, 2nd base off Helling/Haselman);
Singleton (18, 2nd base off Helling/Haselman).
FIELDING: E - Jose Valentin 2 (33, ground ball, throw). DP: 2
(Jose Valentin-Konerko, Konerko-Jose Valentin).
--------------------------------------------------
Texas - 010 000 000 -- 1
Chi White Sox - 730 021 00X -- 13
--------------------------------------------------
TEXAS ip h r er bb so hr era
Helling (L, 14-11) 2/3 5 7 7 3 0 2 4.31
Sikorski 4 1/3 4 5 5 1 5 2 5.47
Cubillan 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 6.35
Perisho 1 1/3 2 0 0 0 0 0 7.19
Sheldon 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Cordero 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.48
CHI WHITE SOX ip h r er bb so hr era
K Wells (W, 5-7) 7 4 1 0 1 4 0 5.51
S Lowe 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.58
Simas 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.62
Pitches-strikes: K Wells 92-64; S Lowe 12-7; Simas 13-9; Helling 41-22;
Sikorski 80-54; Cubillan 24-17; Perisho 13-8; Sheldon 5-3; Cordero 2-2.
Ground balls-fly balls: K Wells 7-9; S Lowe 1-1; Simas 0-2; Helling 0-2;
Sikorski 3-5; Cubillan 0-3; Perisho 3-1; Sheldon 0-0; Cordero 0-1.
Batters faced: K Wells 26; S Lowe 3; Simas 3; Helling 10; Sikorski 18;
Cubillan 6; Perisho 5; Sheldon 1; Cordero 1.
Game Log
Texas Starting Lineups -- Frank Catalanotto 2B, Chad Curtis LF,
Rafael Palmeiro 1B, Gabe Kapler CF, Ricky Ledee RF, Ruben Sierra DH,
Bill Haselman C, Michael Lamb 3B, Kelly Dransfeldt SS, Rick Helling RHP.
Chi White Sox Starting Lineups -- Ray Durham 2B, Jose Valentin SS,
Frank Thomas DH, Magglio Ordonez RF, Carlos Lee LF, Paul Konerko 1B,
Greg Norton 3B, Chris Singleton CF, Charles Johnson C, Kip Wells RHP.
Umpires -- Miller (HP), Meals (1B), Young (2B), Katzenmeier (3B).
Gametime Weather: 73 degrees, Clear, wind in from left at 15 mph.
TEXAS 1ST: Catalanotto walked. Curtis lined into double play,
shortstop to first, Catalanotto doubled off first. R Palmeiro
flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 0,
CHI WHITE SOX 0.
CHI WHITE SOX 1ST: Durham fouled out to third. Jose Valentin
walked. F Thomas homered to left, Jose Valentin scored.
M Ordonez homered to left center. Ca Lee reached on infield single.
Ca Lee stole second. Ca Lee to third on catcher Haselman's
throwing error. Konerko walked. Norton walked, Konerko to second.
Singleton singled to center, Ca Lee and Konerko scored, Norton to
third. Singleton stole second. C Johnson lined out to shortstop.
Durham doubled to deep right center, Norton and Singleton scored.
Brian Sikorski relieved Rick Helling. Jose Valentin grounded out
to first. (7 Runs, 5 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 0, CHI WHITE SOX 7.
TEXAS 2ND: Kapler singled to center. Ledee flied out to left.
Sierra singled to right, Kapler to second. Haselman safe at
first on shortstop Jose Valentin's fielding error, Kapler to
third, Sierra to second. Lamb grounded out to first, Kapler
scored, Sierra to third, Haselman to second. Dransfeldt struck
out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 7.
CHI WHITE SOX 2ND: F Thomas struck out swinging. M Ordonez
struck out swinging. Ca Lee singled to left. Konerko walked,
Ca Lee to second. Norton homered to right center, Ca Lee and
Konerko scored. Singleton flied out to left. (3 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
TEXAS 3RD: Catalanotto struck out swinging. Curtis flied out
to deep right. R Palmeiro struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
CHI WHITE SOX 3RD: C Johnson struck out swinging. Durham
grounded out to shortstop. Jose Valentin flied out to left
center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
TEXAS 4TH: Kapler singled to right. Ledee grounded into double
play, first to shortstop, Kapler out at second. Sierra grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
CHI WHITE SOX 4TH: Sheldon catching. F Thomas grounded out to
third. M Ordonez struck out looking. Ca Lee flied out to left.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
TEXAS 5TH: Sheldon safe at first on shortstop Jose Valentin's
throwing error. Lamb flied out to center. Dransfeldt struck
out swinging. Catalanotto fouled out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
1 Error) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 10.
CHI WHITE SOX 5TH: Sheldon at first. Waszgis catching.
Konerko flied out to deep right. Norton struck out swinging.
Singleton singled to center. C Johnson homered to left,
Singleton scored. Durham flied out to right. (2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 12.
TEXAS 6TH: Curtis flied out to deep left center. Waszgis
grounded out to shortstop. Kapler grounded out to first. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 12.
CHI WHITE SOX 6TH: Darwin Cubillan relieved Brian Sikorski.
Catalanotto at first. Dransfeldt at second. Sheldon at short.
Jose Valentin popped out to third. Sheldon at second.
Dransfeldt at short. F Thomas walked. M Ordonez flied out to
deep right center. Ca Lee singled to center, F Thomas to
second. Konerko singled to shallow right center, F Thomas
scored, Ca Lee to third. Norton flied out to right. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 13.
TEXAS 7TH: Graffanino at second. C Wilson at short. Ledee
lined out to third. Sierra flied out to center. Sheldon
singled to center. Lamb grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 13.
CHI WHITE SOX 7TH: Matt Perisho relieved Darwin Cubillan.
Ledee in left. Sheldon in right. Catalanotto at second.
Waszgis at first. Knorr catching. Singleton singled to right.
C Johnson reached on infield single, Singleton to second.
Graffanino flied out to center. Sheldon in center. Kapler in
right. C Wilson grounded into double play, shortstop to second
to first, C Johnson out at second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 13.
TEXAS 8TH: Sean Lowe relieved Kip Wells. Liefer in right.
Paul catching. Dransfeldt struck out swinging. Catalanotto
flied out to left. Knorr grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TEXAS 1, CHI WHITE SOX 13.
CHI WHITE SOX 8TH: Sheldon in left. Ledee in center. Je Abbott
hit for F Thomas. Je Abbott grounded out to shortstop.
Scott Sheldon relieved Matt Perisho. Valdes in left. Liefer
struck out swinging. Francisco Cordero relieved Scott Sheldon.
Sheldon at third. M Christensen hit for Ca Lee. M Christensen
flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TEXAS 1,
CHI WHITE SOX 13.
TEXAS 9TH: Bill Simas relieved Sean Lowe. Singleton in left.
M Christensen in center. Waszgis struck out swinging. Kapler
popped out to first. Ledee flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors)
FINAL SCORE: CHICAGO WHITE SOX 13, TEXAS RANGERS 1
DETROIT (AP) - Shane Halter became the fourth major leaguer to
play all nine positions in a game, went 4-for-5 at the plate and
capped his adventure by scoring the winning run in the bottom of
the ninth inning to lift the Detroit Tigers over Minnesota 12-11
Sunday. Halter, who had done everything but pitch for the Tigers
this year, became the second person to play all nine positions in
a game this season. Texas' Scott Sheldon did it Sept. 6 against
the Chicago White Sox. The only other players ever to do it were
Bert Campaneris of the Kansas City Athletics in 1965 and the
Twins' Cesar Tovar in 1968. Halter changed positions at the start
of the first eight innings. He began the game at first base
before moving to third base, right field, center field, left
field, shortstop, catcher and pitcher. Halter walked Matt LeCroy,
the only batter he faced in the eighth. Halter finished the game
at second base after walking LeCroy.