Chicago White Sox: 5 reasons they won the AL Central
Home Runs
The Chicago White Sox certainly knows how to send baseballs flying right now.
The White Sox key to success this season has been the long ball. When the White Sox hit a home run, they are 73-26. When they hit multiple home runs in the same game they are 40-6.
This formula remained true during the game the White Sox clinched the division. Tim Anderson, who hadn’t homered since August 20th, set the tone with a home run in the games first at-bat. In the second inning, the White Sox would go on to hit four home runs in the span of 10 batters.
Luis Robert and Eloy Jimenez went back-to-back and then Anderson tacked on his second long ball of the game. These homerun outbursts are not rare. The White Sox have hit four or more homers on 11 separate occasions this season. Since June 30th they have done it nine times.
The White Sox have also won four games via the walk-off home run. Gavin Sheets had the first one in a thrilling come from behind victory over the Minnesota Twins during the second game of a doubleheader.
Tim Anderson had the most exciting one when he hit a dagger against the New York Yankees in the Field of Dreams game. Brian Goodwin uncorked a wicked bat-flip after hitting his game-winner against the Cleveland Indians. Finally, Leury Garcia surprised everybody by hitting a walk-off home run with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning against Boston.
Due to injuries, the White Sox haven’t been able to launch home runs at the same rate they did in 2020. However, this team has a ton of pop. When everything is clicking, it is a bad day to be a baseball.
Jose Abreu has 29 home runs. Yasmani Grandal has 22. Tim Anderson has 16. Andrew Vaughn has 15. Meanwhile, Eloy Jimenez, Gavin Sheets, and Luis Robert each have nine home runs despite limited playing time.
Jimenez and Sheets have only played 47 and 46 games respectfully while Robert has appeared in 60. Guaranteed Rate Field caters toward the long ball. That is good news for the White Sox. They have proven that the more home runs they hit the more they win.