Chicago White Sox: Remembering the blackout game
The Chicago White Sox are remembering one of the most electrifying regular-season games in team history which was 11 years ago today.
The Chicago White Sox had one of the most electric moments in their regular-season history eleven years ago today. They played a game 163 against the Minnesota Twins at U.S. Cellular Field to determine the 2008 American League Central division champion. It was a necessary game because of the fact that both the White Sox and Twins finished with identical records of 88-74 and only one of them could advance to play the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series.
It is commonly known as the Blackout Game because of the fact that fans were encouraged to wear all black to the game and they almost all did in a sold-out crowd. The game was allowed to be played in Chicago because the White Sox won a coin flip after the season was over. The game counted as a regular-season game and all of the statistics counted.
The White Sox won the game by a final score of 1-0. Jim Thome hit a solo shot in the seventh inning to give the Sox a 1-0 lead that would stick. John Danks was the starting pitcher for the White Sox and he earned his 12th win of the season. Bobby Jenks got the save for Chicago, his 30th of the season. The biggest highlight of the game, however, was a defensive play made by Ken Griffey Jr., who delivered an accurate throw to home plate to keep the Twins from tying the game late as A.J. Pierzynski was able to get the ball and block home plate.
It was the lowest-scoring tie-breaker in MLB history and the atmosphere at the stadium made it one of the most memorable. The White Sox clinched their first postseason berth since winning the 2005 World Series with this win over the Twins. They would be defeated in the Division Series by the Tampa Bay Rays who went on to be American League champions and World Series runner ups. It was an overall fun season for a White Sox team that had little expectations going into the season.
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That is the last time the White Sox made it to the playoffs. It has been a long eleven years but things appear to be on the rise for the long term. It is a sight to behold when the south side has playoff baseball so, hopefully, it returns sooner than later.