The universal designated hitter is coming in 2020. Of course, the White Sox have had the DH since 1973, but when interleague play was introduced in 1997, there were still a handful of games where the pitchers hit. Now we won’t have even that.
And that’s fine. White Sox pitchers from 1997-present have hit a collective .104/.137/.144 with three home runs, 17 walks and 205 strikeouts in 516 plate appearances. That’s hard to watch. But there have been some fine moments by White Sox pitchers at the plate throughout history.
On April 29, 1901, Frank Shugart hit the first major league home run in White Sox history.