3 Chicago White Sox players that could be on MLB The Show
On Monday, Shohei Ohtani became the 17th athlete to grace the cover of MLB The Show in the United States. After posting a historic season that saw Ohtani accomplish feats never before seen in the MLB it was the obvious choice. Even Chicago White Sox fans had to take notice.
Ohtani batted .257/.372/.592 with 46 homers, 100 RBIs, and 4.9 bWAR en route to winning AL MVP. He also was named the starting pitcher of the American League All-Star game and finished the season with a 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 156 strikeouts in 130⅓ innings, a 9-2 record, and a 4.1 bWAR as a pitcher.
Despite the fact that Mike Trout has been in the league since playing since 2011, Ohtani became the first Angels player to be featured on the cover of MLB The Show. He also became the first Asian athlete to be featured on the cover of a video game in any of the four major sports in the United States.
Ohtani joins an elite class of baseball players to be put on the cover including David Ortiz, David Wright, Ryan Howard, Dustin Pedroia, Joe Mauer, Adrián Gonzalez, Andrew McCutchen, Miguel Cabrera, Yasiel Puig, Josh Donaldson, Ken Griggey Jr., Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, and Javier Báez, Frenando Tatis Jr. and Jackie Robinson, who was placed on the 2021 special edition cover.
The Chicago White Sox has a few options for the next video game cover.
That now begs the question who will be the next athlete on the cover? The Chicago White Sox has a young and exciting team with plenty of players who could be in the running. Here are three White Sox players who could be on the next edition:
Tim Anderson
Tim Anderson is the clear Chicago White Sox favorite to be the next cover athlete.
He has already plenty of iconic moments in the MLB from his bat flip in 2019 to his stone-cold walk-off home run in the first annual Field of Dreams game.
His list of accolades keeps growing as well. In 2019 he led the major leagues with a .335 average, joining Luke Appling as the only player in White Sox history to accomplish the feat. He also joined Frank Thomas as one of three White Sox to ever win an AL batting title. He also led the Major Leagues with six four-hit games.
He followed that up in 2020, finishing second in the AL in batting average with a .322 mark nearly becoming the 12th player in MLB history to lead the majors in batting average in consecutive seasons.
He was outstanding in the playoffs with nine hits in his first three playoff games, the most in MLB history. His nine hits also put him alongside Lou Brock as the only players with three consecutive three-hit efforts in the playoffs.
In 2021 he was named to his first All-Star team. His resume is more than deserving and it should only improve in 2022.
Being a cover athlete is nothing new to Tim Anderson. Last season, he was named the cover athlete for RBI baseball. He became the first member of the Chicago White Sox to ever be featured on the cover of a popular baseball game. He was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Javier Baez in 2020.
This one is Dope! Take a look at this 🔥 @RBIGAME cover for 2021!
— Seven (@TimAnderson7) January 21, 2021
“I’ve been gaming lately so Drop your Tag 👇🏾👇🏾 https://t.co/2NKs0UaPfz pic.twitter.com/D9KQbHhaxl
Throw in his big personality makes him one of the most marketable players in the MLB and he is the clear favorite on the Chicago White Sox to be a cover athlete for MLB The Show.
Luis Robert
Luis Robert has a chance to put the Chicago White Sox on the national map.
Out of all the players on the White Sox, Luis Robert has the highest ceiling. A five-tool player with MVP caliber talent has already shown flashes of greatness during his brief time in the major league to this point.
During his rookie campaign, he took home a Gold Glove for his work in center field. He also led all rookies in RBIs, game-winning RBIs, stolen bases, and home runs. Meanwhile, he finished second in runs scored, extra-base hits, and total bases and took home the bronze in slugging percentage and OPS. Robert was also second in the entire MLB in home runs over 110 mph with 6.
During his sophomore season, he was sidelined with a torn hip flexor that cost him the majority of his season. When he returned to the lineup he was an offensive force. In September, he batted .367 with six home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .633 slugging percentage He finished the season with a .338 batting average, 13 home runs, and a .945 OPS.
Give him a healthy 162 game season and Robert has the potential but put up Mike Trout type numbers. Of course, having a badass nickname like La Pantera doesn’t hurt his cause when choosing a cover athlete.
Eloy Jimenez
Eloy Jimenez has the biggest personality of any Chicago White Sox player.
Eloy Jimenez is perhaps the most likable character on the White Sox. His friendly nature and shoutouts to his mother make him an easy fan favorite.
The fact he can drive the ball out of the ballpark at a consistent rate also helps. From 2019-to 2020, he ranked ninth amongst all American League right-handed hitters in home runs with 45. In 2020 he became the youngest White Sox player to ever win a Silver Slugger Award.
In 2019, he led AL rookies in home runs with 31, as well as leading the pack in RBIs (79) and total bases (69). He averaged one home run per every 15 at-bats which is the second-highest ratio in White Sox history behind only Ron Kittles’s 1983 season. But as a career .270 hitter, Jimenez is not just a power hitter. He has the ability to hit for average as well.
Two things stand in Jimenez’s path to being a cover athlete. The first is his comically bad defense. If he can turn himself into an average defender then his offensive firepower and charisma could be enough to make him a cover athlete.
His second issue is his inability to stay healthy. He could only play 122 games his rookie year because of injures and also missed most of the 2020 postseason due to injury. In 2021, he tore a pectoral before the season even started limiting him to 55 games. Eloy needs to stay healthy to turn into the star that the White Sox envision him to be.
The Chicago White Sox have been mostly bad for the last 12 years. light. Related Story