Today is a glorious day on the South Side of Chicago as the White Sox begin what will hopefully be a season that doesn't replicate last year when the Sox set the all-time loss record in the history of baseball.
This season will mark a new era of White Sox baseball, with the Sox having one of the best farm systems in baseball and will showcase that talent throughout this season.
The White Sox have a few question marks surrounding them as they enter the 2025 season, with one question looming over their heads: Can the Sox be better than last year and add at least ten wins to their total?
A recap of last season.
Last season, the White Sox finished dead last in the American League Central with a record of 41-121 and had a winning percentage of .253.
The lowest part of the year was when the Sox had a 21-game losing streak that finally was broken with a win in the Oakland Coliseum, beating the A’s 5-1.
A loss would've broken the 1988 Baltimore Orioles AL record for the longest-losing streak in a season.
It will be hard to replicate having the league's worst record for back-to-back years, but nobody thought the White Sox would set the all-time loss record in a season, so anything is possible.
Can the Chicago White Sox avoid a repeat from last season?
The one difference from last year is the White Sox seem to be embracing the rebuild and are focusing their efforts on playing their young prospects.
A few of their prospects, Sean Burke, Shane Smith, and Brooks Baldwin, have all made the Opening Day roster and will get a ton of runway to show if they have staying power.
Other prospects like Chase Meidroth, Grant Taylor, and Braden Montgomery are down on the farm, itching to get to Chicago and become the new nucleus of the team.
Mixed in with those prospects are some veterans who were already on the roster and ones brought in to provide some leadership and as trade chips.
The White Sox will need their veterans and rookies to have better offensive seasons and help their pitching staff out by scoring runs if they're to add ten more wins.
The White Sox as a team last season had an abysmal .221 team batting average, which won't help their case in getting those ten wins if they hit like that again.
The Sox will have to hit at least .240 as a team and put the ball in play more to have a chance.
What also will help is if the Sox can strike out less. Last season, the team finished 14th in strikeouts with 1403. Shaving off at least 150 K’s should help put the Sox on the right track.
A new season means new opportunities.
The start of a new season means new opportunities for the White Sox to prove the haters wrong.
Even if the White Sox lose 100 games, it won't be the end of the world, as that would be a significant improvement.
According to The Athletic, they project the White Sox to finish with a record of 62-100.
What a successful season for the Sox will look like is adding ten more wins, bringing up Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith, and Colson Montgomery, to name a few, and having them be successful.
If that can happen, then this season should be one fans can bear to watch and look forward to the future.
The first pitch is only hours away. The smell, sounds, and sights of baseball are back in the air, and it's great to see the game back once again.