Depending on who you ask, the Chicago White Sox just completed either the worst Chicago sports collapse since the '69 Cubs* or are the most unlikely Chicago sports success story of the last 100 years.
*For those of you not from around these parts the 1969 Cubs lead the National League for 155 days, had a 8.5 game lead in August, and lost 17 of their final 25 games to end up a whopping 8 games behind the Miracle Mets.
Although I was sad and angry the White Sox could not win one of the final three games against the Cleveland Guardians to advance to the American League Championship Series after jumping out to a two to nothing series lead, I really do need to take a step back and marvel at what the White Sox accomplished.
I am on record stating how much I despise White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He is hands down the worst owner in American sports. I truly believed that the White Sox and Bulls would not have any success until he was dead. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. And it actually seems that Reinsdorf and his fellow buffoons found that nut in general manager Chris Getz.
At first Chris Getz seemed like every other Reinsdorf hire. Someone they could get on the cheap who had ties to the White Sox as a player (See Bill Cartright, John Paxson, Kenny Williams, etc.). Getz seemed like a complete moron who did not even know which way the players he acquired batted. But something unexpected happened. Reinsdorf get the fuck out of the way and let Getz tear down to the studs the dilapidated crack house that was the Chicago White Sox. Getz was allowed to make all the trades he wanted. He was allowed to lose games in the short term in order to set the team up for long term success... maybe.
The result of the mercy killing of the Tony LaRussa/Kenny Williams' White Sox was a three season stretch where the White Sox lost 100 games each year totally 324 losses including a record 121 losses just two years ago. To put this in perspective Sparky Anderson famously said, "Every team is going to win 60 and lose 60. It all depends on what you do with those other 42 games." Well the sox proved this wrong by only winning 41 total games that year. Even by accident they should have been able to get to 60.
Before this year, no team had ever made the playoffs after a 100 loss season. And the White Sox had done it for an astounding 3 years in a row. This meant that the Sox had nothing to lose by playing as many rookies and cast offs as possible. And oh boy did they ever. The Whit Sox had 14 players make their major league debut this season. Of those, six guys ended up being major contributors for the White Sox. And that doesn't count the four other major contributors who qualified as rookies due to so little service time. So out of 26 players, 10 were rookies. And they made the freaking playoffs!
Now it is important to note that MLB has expanded the number of playoff teams to seven so getting the final wild card spot isn't that impressive... but here is what is. The White Sox won a playoff series for the first time in 21 years!!!! Sp this group of bargain basement players and rookies swept the Houston Astros to advance. They then won two more playoff games before their complete lack of pitching reared its ugly head and the Cleveland Guardians swept the next three games to send the White Sox home.
In my younger days, I probably would have gone to the airport to greet this unlikely baseball heroes with cheers and a sign. But I'm old, I only watched the playoff games... of and you can't just walk into an airport and greet people coming off a plane anymore. (yes when I was younger you could just do that). I have not earned the right to call myself a true fan... but what I can do is spend an hour and about 750 words praising this unlikely gang of rookies and castoffs. Three cheers for the White Sox!