Chicago Sports Review

Flintstones Gummy Vitamins; could they be the secret to the 124 career home runs and 416 career RBIs for Chicago White Sox third baseman Joe Crede? Crede said he’s a “Centrum man”, yet three bottles of these gummy vitamins remain in his locker.

No matter what the secret is, it must be working.

Crede grew up in Westphalia, Mo. and has been a third baseman since Little League, but he also pitched in high school. Growing up watching his older brother Brad play baseball, he said that Brad is his role model.

“I couldn’t tell you how many games I’ve seen him play,” Crede said. “He was just a guy I really looked up to, I dressed like him and emulated him all the time.”

Crede, who last week was named to his first MLB All-Star team, attended Fatima High School in Westphalia, where he led his team to three district championships in ‘93, ‘95, and ‘96 as a pitcher. He was drafted by the White Sox in the fifth round of the 1996 amateur draft.

The Sox third baseman made his debut in 2000 and never went to college. He said he wanted to go to Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) with his sister and that he wanted to be a high school history teacher.

“I’m really big into American History,” Crede said. “The way that things evolve through out the history of the US always fascinated me.”

Crede is married and a father of two daughters, Anna and Lucy, who are very special to him.

“They really help me along in my career,” he said of his daughters. “Seeing them and seeing my wife (Lisa) support me is just a very special feeling. It’s one of the best feelings you could have.”

The fans have been a real big support system for Crede as well. He said seeing little kids walk around with his name and number on their backs is a great feeling.

“You’re definitely a role model to a lot of those kids,” he said. “They look up to you and when I was in their position I looked up to guys in the big leagues.”

Crede’s hometown has also been very supportive of his career. Westphalia celebrated ‘Joe Crede Day’ after the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. Crede was presented with the keys to city during the celebration.

“To know that people are following my career that closely, and that I have been a part of that many people’s lives is a really neat experience.”

While he said his hometown consists of about 300 people, Crede believes that about 2,000 people showed up for the parade.

Crede, currently hitting .263 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs, has had a lot of success in his Major League career, but there have also been many obstacles. He said adjusting to the big league life was hard, but it was even harder to be put on a 60-day disabled list in 2007 because of a back injury.

“It was hard to sit there and see things unravel in the course of the season last year,” Crede said. “It was hard for me to watch sometimes and it was more frustrating than anything else.”

Crede had back surgery and since then has felt better than ever.

“It’s a day and night difference from last year. At this time last year I was done.”

The stadium is packed with over 39,000 cheering fans – a sellout crowd all hyped up just to see a ballgame at US Cellular Field.

This isn’t just a ballgame however, it’s the Crosstown Classic. To Cubs and Sox fans alike, this six-game series is one of the most intense ones of their lives. They wait anxiously for these two weekends to see Chicago’s best in baseball battle it out. Fights break out constantly between some fans that live or die by this series.

But what about the players? Are these games really a big deal?

White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski is known for being involved in some controversy, especially in the 2006 Crosstown Classic. On May 20, 2006 Sox outfielder Brian Anderson hit a sacrifice fly to score Pierzynksi who collided with Cubs catcher Michael Barrett while crossing the plate. Barrett, now a San Diego Padre, then punched Pierzynski in the jaw after the Sox catcher reached back and tagged home plate. So far, nothing that extreme has happened this year, but you never know when it comes to the Cubs and Sox.

Pierzynski said he wishes the series could be just like any other.

“You try to look at it as another game but at the same time there’s definitely a different electricity in the air,” he said. “You have two teams in one city split half and half. The fans are very passionate about their team and want their team to win.”

Anderson agrees and said that the series has more of an entertainment aspect than anything, but that he doesn’t want it to affect his game.

“The media hypes it up but we can’t let it get to us and control the way we play.”

Sox outfielder Nick Swisher is new to the Cubs and Sox rivalry and didn’t let the hype get to him on Friday’s game. Swisher hit a grand slam – the sixth Sox grand slam this season – in the bottom of the third to give the Sox an 8-0 lead. It didn’t matter to Swisher that they were playing the Cubs.

“As players we have to treat it as just another game because if we don’t, we get all caught up in the hype and it takes you out of the game.”

White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen takes the series a little more seriously. Guillen said he was surprised that he hadn’t won a game against Cubs Manager Lou Piniella this year and really wants to beat the Cubs.

“I just want to win because I’m tired of fans calling me names,” Guillen said. “I don’t know why they hate me because we lost against the Cubs. It’s just unbelievably ridiculous. I just want to win to tear the fans away from my butt.”

Guillen also said that the fans shouldn’t take it as seriously as they do.

“(If) fans think this game is more important than the ones we’re going to play in Kansas City and Detroit then they’re wrong. I don’t care what kind of pride they have or how much they think they’re going to be abused for (us) losing against the Cubs. I get abuse too.”

Whether they felt it or not, it was definitely a different kind of atmosphere in the ballpark on Friday. Sox fans were hoping for at least one win against the Cubs and Cubs fans were hoping for another sweep this weekend. What about those fans that are in between?

White Sox General Manager Ken Williams believes that this series is very important to Chicago, no matter what side you’re on.

“I think it reverts back to the Chicago pride thing,” he said. “It’s too bad that the rivalry is so intense that you can’t allow yourself to revert back to a little pride for your city and your neighbor.”

However, deep down Williams wants to win this not only for some city pride but also for himself.

“I’m a competitive person and I want to beat everyone,” Williams said. “When there’s a team eight miles north of you and you are sharing a marketplace, as the person responsible, I want to make sure that we did our fair share. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.”

Sox designated hitter Jim Thome says these games are pretty intense and a lot of fun. He said that they’re big games for the city, especially for bragging rights. However he does believe the main focus for the team should just be winning the division.

Many of the players agree that the fans and the media hype up the series a little too much. Tickets are impossible to get and extremely expensive, and it could be frightening getting caught in just a verbal argument between Cubs and Sox fans.

However, Sox third baseman Joe Crede says this kind of hype is good for both teams.

“Anything that’s positive for the game of baseball I’m all for it,” he said. “It’s fun coming to the ballpark knowing you’re going to have a sellout crowd.”

It’s known that the Sox have nothing against the Cubs and really only care about the game. They don’t take it as personally as the fans do. They just want to play ball and win. The main focus of conversation with the Sox was concentrating on staying in first place.

“(The fans) just need to realize that it’s not just us against the Cubs,” Thome said.

The Sox beat the Cubs on Friday 10-3, the Crosstown Classic continues through Sunday.

Like a kid in a toy store, Jim Thome walks around the Chicago White Sox clubhouse with an ear-to-ear grin. He’s happy to see everybody and when asked how he’s doing he responds with a smile and says he’s nothing less than great.

Thome, the Sox designated hitter, has a way of brightening up the locker room and making everyone feel at home.

“I’m just so blessed and fortunate,” Thome said of his success as a professional baseball player. “It’s a thrill and an honor. I never fathomed this.”

Another thing Thome never fathomed was hitting 500 career home runs, a feat he achieved Sept. 16, 2007. His two-run home run off the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim’s Dustin Moseley gave the Sox a 9-7 victory.

“It was the best,” Thome said. “To do it on a walk-off and have your teammates waiting for you is a thrill. You couldn’t have dreamed it any better. Really.”

Thome’s inspiration is his family, and the slugger said his mother, Joyce, and father, Chuck Jr., are very important to him.

“I was just a big baseball fan and I liked a lot of different players,” Thome said of his childhood growing up in Peoria, Illinois. “But (my hero) I would say is my dad.”

Thome added that being able to be a part of the organization itself is very inspiring.

“When you put that uniform on not only do you represent your family’s name but you represent the organization, the city, the fans, and giving back.

“It’s playing hard and working, coming here to work every day and to try to get better for all those reasons.”

The next aspiration is to win a championship, which Thome said would be the ultimate goal and that it really should be every ball players. His winning spirit has definitely traveled through the clubhouse and he has motivated many of his teammates.

“I’m just grateful I can tell my kids I played with him,” said Sox third baseman Joe Crede. “I looked up to him when he was with Cleveland, and he was portrayed as such a nice and great guy in the game.

“He seemed like a guy you would want to play with. You wanted to root for him. To play with him and experience the things he is experiencing at this time in his career is a true honor.”

His popularity hasn’t gone to his head, though. Thome is very grateful for what he has and for the fans.

“I think you respect where you came from and how hard you worked in order to get here,” he said. “Never lose track of that.”