Chicago White Sox: 2021 was a very important year

The Chicago White Sox went in 2021 with mixed expectations. They made the postseason in 2020 but they weren’t division champions. It was also only a 60 game season due to COVID-19 so nobody knew what to expect from them in a full year. Well, after going 93-69, they won the American League Central Division with relative ease. It was a big step towards the ultimate goal of winning the World Series with this core.

It wasn’t without difficulties at times either. The White Sox lost consequential players like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and Yasmani Grandal to injuries for months at a time. They also had many other players have little stints on the IL from time to time. It wasn’t easy to manage but different players stepped up at different times.

There were great moments like the Field of Dreams Game, clinching the division, and comeback wins amongst other things. They went into the postseason against the Houston Astros with a big hurdle to get over. Houston is an experienced team that knows how to win in the postseason and it showed.

As a result, the Astros eliminated the White Sox three games to one. It ended what was a very good and very important season for this organization. Regardless of what people may think of the end or how they got there, they took big steps as a team.

The Chicago White Sox took some big steps in 2021 which will help them in the future.

Although there were some big injuries, the young players took more big steps. We know for sure that Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada, and Lucas Giolito are complete superstars. We also saw rookies like Gavin Sheets, Andrew Vaughn, and Jake Burger get their opportunities at different times.

In terms of pitching, Ethan Katz did a great job with youngsters like Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, and Garrett Crochet amongst others. Carlos Rodon turned his career around and Lance Lynn was even better than we expected. With another year under their belt, we can expect even more in 2022 from these guys. They are in good hands.

A lot of people questioned Tony La Russa and his ability to manage in today’s MLB. Well, he did a pretty good job with all of the challenges that he faced this year. We don’t know how long he is going to be with the White Sox but this year was pretty good from that perspective.

The team took big steps this year and that is really all you can ask for. They weren’t a good team the last time they played 162 and now they are an elite team. They will go into 2022 with a “World Series or bust” mentality again and people should take them seriously. It is sad to see it end but this run is just beginning.