Mike kind of town: Local guy Tauchman joining group of players to suit up for Cubs and White Sox
What do Sammy Sosa, Oscar Gamble, Ron Santo, Steve Stone, Phil Cavarretta, Don Kessinger, Rich Gossage, Jeff Samardzija, Craig Kimbrel, Steve Trout, Lance Johnson and Geovany Soto have in common?
Oh, and Mike Tauchman (soon) as well? They’re one of 205 players, per Baseball Reference, to play for both the Cubs and White Sox.
Cavarretta (Lane Tech) and Samardzija (Valparaiso, Indiana) were local guys who made good and Tauchman, who went to Fremd High School in Palatine, is too, which was a significant reason why the 31-year-old signed with the Sox after the Cubs non-tendered him following a season which saw him bat .248/.357/.366 with seven homers in 350 plate appearances, including a walk-off shot against the Sox on June 5 at Wrigle Field.
The rebuilding Sox appealed to Tauchman because he can have a bigger role than the fourth-outfielder’s job he handled without a starting role. What’s more, he and his wife, Eileen, welcomed their first child two months ago, and staying near family mattered.
“The grandparents and aunts and uncles are here,” Tauchman said on a conference call Tuesday. “Everybody is local. You don’t understand the phrase ‘it takes a village’ until you have a kid of your own, and our village is great. To have that continue and have that support system in our house was a really big factor for my wife and I.”
When the Cubs didn’t tender a contract, the Sox made quick work to bring Tauchman, 31, for his veteran clubhouse presence and his disciplined approach at the plate as a left-handed hitter.
“He puts together a quality at-bat, a guy who historically has gotten on base,” Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “You look at how many pitches he averages per plate appearance, it’s something that will be a welcome addition to our lineup.”
Tauchman, who owns a career .241/.344/.374 batting line, knows the importance of young players having sound role models.
“I reflect back on veteran players [who] set an example for me,” said Tauchman, noting Charlie Blackmon, Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu and CC Sabathia, “and I was very fortunate to play for awesome veterans who really cared about the team and the clubhouse and those intangible things. It’s on me now to continue that.
“I know the guys who made me feel good or comfortable and in a couple situations I know the guys that didn’t. And I would never want a young player to feel the way a couple guys at different points in my career made me feel. That does matter to me a lot.”
Tauchman went to games on both sides of town. His mom is from the South Side and they attended a Sox interleague tilt against the Cardinals and Mark McGwire.
“I was just such a huge baseball fan growing up,” Tauchman said. “When I was really, really young, we would watch a lot of Sox baseball, because that was on at night. That’s when my dad would get home from work, and that would be on the TV at night, some of those great teams with Frank Thomas and Robin Ventura. As I got older, the Wrigley Field experience is pretty cool, so once I got my driver’s license, me and my friends would go to more Cubs games.”
“Two very passionate fan bases.”
Tauchman said he never thought he’d play for a Chicago team, let alone both.
“I’ve felt extremely fortunate to have the career I’ve had,” he said. “Realistically, I probably didn’t think I’d play this long, especially a couple years ago going overseas [to play in Korea in 2022]. So just to have the opportunity to play on both sides of town, it’s awesome. There’s a handful of guys that have, and it’s kind of exciting to be on that list now.”