Retirement looks inevitable for Magglio Ordonez. It's easy to forget just how good Ordonez was during his nine seasons with the White Sox -- after all, following his ugly departure to Detroit, the Sox signed Jermaine Dye. And Dye went on to win the 2005 World Series MVP, cementing a place in White Sox lore Ordonez never reached.
But Ordonez is one of the best outfielders in team history. By Wins Above Replacement, the most successful White Sox outfielders are in this order: Minnie Minoso, Fielder Jones, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Johnny Mostil, Harold Baines, Chet Lemon, Ordonez, Jim Landis, Lance Johnson and Floyd Robinson.
Only one outfielder -- Baines -- hit more home runs than Ordonez while with the White Sox. Albert Belle and Jackson are the only two players with a better OPS, and Ordonez is only one of nine outfielders to play more than 1,000 games in a White Sox uniform.
The list goes on -- Ordonez is in the top 10 among White Sox outfielders in runs (4th), hits (5th), doubles (4th), RBIs (3rd) and walks (9th).
But that's just among fellow outfielders. Among all position players in team history, Ordonez ranks No. 19 in WAR. Only 26 players, including Ordonez, have appeared in more than 1,000 games with the team. He has the fifth-most home runs in Sox history, the 10th-most RBIs and the seventh-highest OPS among Sox players who've played more than 300 games for the club.
That's an impressive resume when you consider 1,615 players have put on a White Sox uniform in a regular-season game. While he didn't leave Chicago in a very pleasant way, Ordonez's tenure with the White Sox is certainly worth celebrating as he rides off into the sunset.