The White Sox played their last home game a week and a half ago.
They fended off the Rockies and were cheered for a successful regular season that resulted in their highest home attendance in four years (1.986 million). For a marquee MLB franchise, that figure might represent a crisis. But it was well above the threshold where the Sox felt supported.
‘‘The most simple way to put what is special about our club is the enthusiasm on the field,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘When you’re a player and there’s no one in the stands, you kind of question who you are. When you’re on the field and there’s a bunch of people there, that gives you confidence that you’re a good club that people are paying good money to come see.’’
But as the sixth seed in the American League playoffs, the Sox left town last week not knowing whether they would play in Chicago again this year. It was an irksome notion.
‘‘Our fans, they deserve baseball in October,’’ All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas said.
Vargas is one of the few players on hand who has observed the Sox’ progression from the losingest MLB team of all time in 2024 to a team a victory away from reaching the AL Championship Series next week. There has been enough turnover for this to feel like an entirely new project.
‘‘There is a big change in personnel; this is a very, very different team,’’ said right-hander Erick Fedde, who was also on the 2024 club. ‘‘A lot of new faces to create the success.’’
Surely, there has been a new crop of viewers drawn to a team that socked 211 home runs this season and produces at least one viral video clip per week. By and large, however, the Sox’ fan base simply has endured the wait for meaningful baseball.
For that reason, ensuring a home playoff game was a rallying cry for the Sox, something celebrated in the locker room in Houston after a sweep of the wild-card series.
‘‘We’re expecting the most rowdy crowd I’ve ever played before in my entire life,’’ said right-hander Sean Burke, who made his big-league debut in 2024.
With the Sox’ two victories in Cleveland, however, the scale of potential happenings this week at Rate Field has increased again.
The 2005 Sox clinched all three of their playoff-series victories, as well as their division title, on the road. When the 1959 Sox clinched the AL pennant, prompting Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn to turn on the air-raid sirens, the team was in Cleveland. That might explain why so many people were startled. No Sox team has locked down the final victory of a playoff series in front of its home fans since the club won the World Series in 1906.
‘‘One hundred twenty years?’’ surprised reliever Grant Taylor said. ‘‘Maybe we can do it this year.’’
Maybe a historic release of fan energy is the key ingredient. By the admission of the players and coaches, the Sox have been more comfortable as an underdog than as a front-runner. A slate of road playoff games as the lower seed found them back in a comfortable mindset. They could use an extra jolt.
‘‘That is definitely true that we have a lot of comfort in being the underdog; that is the story of this club,’’ Venable said. ‘‘I don’t think any of it matters. We get to play a playoff game at home, and that’s all these guys are really thinking about.’’
While the 20-somethings on the roster might be light on their franchise history, they know the environment that awaits them doesn’t come easily or often.
‘‘This could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us,’’ outfielder Tristan Peters said. ‘‘You’ve got to be excited.’’
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-10-07 02:43:43
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
