Chicago White Sox: 2019 season after 50 games played

The Chicago White Sox may or may not benefit from a 50 game schedule, but how did they fare after 50 games of the 2019 season?

The Chicago White Sox, along with the rest of Major League Baseball, might be forced to play a 50 game season. It is less than ideal because there is a chance that a team was good for those first 50 games and becomes a playoff team while another good team might get off to a slow start which would cost them a playoff spot. It is hard to believe that the right teams will all be in the playoffs but it is better than no baseball at all.

The White Sox were decent after their first 50 games. Well, they were decent based on the previous standards that were set during the rebuild. They had stretches that made it look like a team that was so close to taking the next step. Despite being 23-27 after the first 50 games, there was a lot of excitement.

They tailed off after the All-Star break and missed the playoffs but the way they played made people excited for 2020. Well, the pandemic made baseball not start on time and we are waiting to see how they will play if they play at all.

Some interesting things might come out of a 50 game season. For example, the White Sox record of 23-27 looked good compared to the 19-31 record that the Washington Nationals posted after 50 games. The crazy thing is that the Washington Nationals took that 19-31 record that had them in 27th place out of 30 and rode it all the way to the World Series. That is one of the problems that a 50 game season might present.

With the Nationals in mind, there is something else to consider. In the 2019 American League, the Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Boston Red Sox would have made the playoffs after 50 games. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Atlanta Braves would have made it after 50.

In the American League, replace the Boston Red Sox with the Oakland Athletics for the playoff picture that actually happened. In the National League, just replace the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies with the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals for the ending standings. That is seven out of ten teams that stood to make the playoffs after holding a spot after 50 games. That is an argument in favor of a 50 game schedule being good enough in a year like this.

Looking back at the last five World Series Champions, only the 2019 Washington Nationals weren’t in first place after 50 games. The 2018 Boston Red Sox were 34-16, the 2017 Houston Astros were 34-16, the 2016 Chicago Cubs were 35-15, and the 2015 Kansas City Royals were 30-20.  All of those first-place teams went on to win it all so maybe 50 games is a decent indication more often than not.

There are always going to be people who don’t like whatever format they choose so hopefully, they just choose something. It has been a long time since we’ve gotten to watch baseball so anything to see our Chicago White Sox back on the field would be awesome.