Remember That Guy: White Sox first baseman Mike ‘Spanky' Squires

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Before there was Mike “Spanky” LaValliere, there was Mike “Spanky” Squires.

Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., Squires was born on March 5, 1952. The White Sox selected him in the 18th round in 1973 out of Western Michigan University.

Squires made his way to the majors, earning Southern League MVP honors in 1975 for the Knoxville Sox, hitting .304 with a .393 on-base percentage. He went 2-for-3 in his MLB debut (with a run and a walk) on Sept. 1, 1975 (in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Royals). He had 15 hits (all singles) in a 20-game trial to close out the season. He spent all of 1976 and most of 1977 in the minors and had a 33-game hitting streak at Iowa (AAA) in 1977.

Squires reached the majors for good in August 1978, taking over at first base for Lamar Johnson, who shifted to DH. In 1979, his first full season, Squires hit .264 with a .318 OBP while continuing to build on his sterling defensive reputation at first base. He even played one game in left field — the beginning of what would be a trend of experimenting at different positions.

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Twice in May 1980, Squires got into a game as catcher — the first left-handed throwing catcher in baseball since Dale Long in 1958. Since then, only Benny Distefano (three times for the 1989 Pirates) has done that, and Squires remains the last left-handed throwing catcher in American League history.

In 1981, “Spanky” was rewarded with a Gold Glove for his work at first base. He and Jim Spencer (1977) are the only White Sox to earn the award among those guarding the initial sack.

By 1982, Tom Paciorek took over at first base (Wimpy replaced Spanky, for all of those scoring at home), and in 1983, Squires — despite starting only 27 times — played in a career-high 143 games. His 116 appearances off the bench in 1983 are the most by a major league player in a season since at least 1908 (perhaps the most all-time). 

Squires was selected to place the division championship flag above the Comiskey Park roof on Sept. 18, 1983, the day after the White Sox clinched the division. Our Chuck Garfien was at that game and remembers seeing Squires on the roof. Who’s the last player you remember seeing on the roof of an MLB ballpark?

In addition to being a super-sub, Squires also added third base to his résumé in 83. He made 14 appearances at the hot corner from 1983-84 and was the first left-handed thrower to play there since Charlie Grimm in 1918. Since then, only five southpaws have done it — Terry Francona (once), Don Mattingly (three times), Mario Valdez (once for the White Sox), Anthony Rizzo (once) and Gerardo Parra (once). Donnie Baseball was the only one of those five to start a game at third since Squires.

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Squires even pitched on April 22, 1984, retiring Tom Brookens as the last out in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 9-1 loss in Detroit. The man did it all…

Except strike out. He only whiffed 108 times in 1,779 career plate appearances, all with the White Sox. His last major league action was two games as a pinch runner at the end of the 1985 season. 

After wrapping up his MLB playing career, he spent a few years as the Blue Jays first base coach (1989-91), one as the White Sox bullpen coach (1992), several years as scout for the Cardinals (1995-2008) and a single season for the Reds as special assistant to the GM (2010). In his spare time, he enjoys officiating high school sporting events.

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