There’s no way to sugar-coat the 2024 White Sox. They had the worst record in baseball and lost the most games of any team in the modern era. Though the Sox released the new viral campfire milkshake, there was little incentive to see a game at Guaranteed Rate field.
While the season was disappointing, ‘tis the season to appreciate what we have instead of dwelling on what we miss. Though it may be hard to see, there are many reasons to be grateful for the Sox this year. For just a few days, let’s put all that went wrong aside and focus on the positive.
Here are five reasons for fans to be thankful for the Chicago White Sox this Thanksgiving...
The Sox still play in Chicago
Say what you want about owner Jerry Reinsdorf, but at least he’s not Athletics owner John Fisher.
Oakland’s tragic relocation to Las Vegas began in 2016 when Lewis Wolff sold his share and Fisher took over as the A’s managing partner. Fisher deviated from his and Wolff’s original plan to keep the A’s in the area and began shopping the team outside of the Bay Area.
Rather than accept one of several offers from groups to buy the A’s to keep them in the area, or spend money to improve the team, Fisher opted to move the team to Las Vegas, prioritizing wealth and a flashy new stadium over 57 years of history.
Watching the final A’s game at the Coliseum this year was heartbreaking. Seeing the sadness A’s fans exhibited during the final home game in the East Bay Area reminded me of how lucky I am that the Sox have stayed in Chicago since 1901. While they haven’t won a postseason game since 2005 and their ballpark isn’t the prettiest, at least they’re in Chicago.
And that can’t be taken for granted.
This offseason’s most coveted trade piece comes from Chicago
Not a lot panned out for the Sox, but at least they can hang their hat on Garrett Crochet, one of the most sensational pitchers this fall and winter.
Crochet has always been a stud during his three years with the Sox, and this year was no different. He had a 3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP over 146 innings and ranked fourth in the league with 209 strikeouts. His career-best 4.1 WAR and 12.9 K/9 rate only fuel his value. Crochet has drawn interest from several teams, including the Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies most recently.
Although the chances of him staying in Chicago are extremely low, fans should be thankful that they got to see Crochet represent the Sox this year. Every five games I knew I could watch at least a few innings of solid baseball when he pitched. His starts were the highlight of the year, and for that fans should be thankful that he happened to play for our city.
A full rebuild is in high gear
This year has forced the Sox to build for the future, which likely wouldn’t have happened had they not crashed and burned as hard as they did.
For years the Sox refused to get with the program. Former managers Tony La Russa and Rick Renteria kept the Sox rooted in old-school baseball, and player signings were illogical and lacked a clear strategy. For the past two years it seemed like Sox baseball would stay in a vicious cycle of refusing to rebuild but also not going all-in.
Though the Sox paid a high price, general manager Chris Getz’s latest staff changes and player acquisitions seem to indicate that things will be different. Progress is progress, and after this year Sox fans should count their blessings that 2024 won’t be repeated.