Oct. 22, 2005
On Saturday night, sometime around 8 p.m., George Mason baseball history will be made. It won't take place at Spuhler Field or even with a player in a George Mason uniform. The history that will be made will take place at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago as the members of the Chicago White Sox are introduced prior to Game One of the World Series.
Chris Widger, the most accomplished Major Leaguer to come from the Patriots' program is one of the 25 men on the White Sox roster for the World Series, which begins on Saturday with Chicago taking on the Houston Astros. Widger is one of four former Mason players to make the majors, along with Mike Draper (1993), Mike Colangelo (1999, 2001-02) and Shawn Camp (2004-05).
Widger is in his ninth season in the majors and first with the White Sox. He first came to the majors with the Seattle Mariners in 1995 when he played 23 games. He appeared in eight games for the Mariners in 1996 before becoming an Expo prior to the 1997 season. With the Expos, Widger received the most playing time of his career, appearing in 91 games in 1997, 125 games in 1998 and 124 games in 1999.
The 1999 season was Widger's finest as he hit .264 with 14 homers and 56 RBI along with a .325 on-base percentage and .441 slugging percentage in 383 at-bats. He tied a team record by hitting a home run in four straight games. In 2000, Widger played 86 games for the Expos and 10 with the Mariners.
Widger spent the 2001 season recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder before appearing in 21 games for the New York Yankees in 2002, batting .297 in 64 at-bats. In 2003, Widger played 44 games for the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the Mets a few days prior to the 2004 season opener. Widger chose to take a year off before returning to the majors this year with the White Sox.
In his career, Widger has appeared in more than 500 games with 54 homers, 213 RBI, 101 doubles and 419 hits. He has a career .242 batting average with a .299 on-base percentage and a .402 slugging percentage. He previously appeared in the postseason in 1995 when he went 0 for 3 with the Mariners in the Divisional Series and 0 for 1 in the League Championship Series.
