A lot can change in a year. The Chicago White Sox over the last trip around the sun are proof of that.
While on the surface, the White Sox remain a last place team in the AL Central and one of the least competitive teams in all of baseball, the strides the organization has made this year cannot be understated.
The White Sox just won their 52nd game of the season on Wednesday night. That’s already an 11-game improvement from the historically bad 2024 squad, and there are still 22 games left to play.
It’s still very possible for the White Sox to avoid 100 losses, which would be a huge step in the right direction.
But it’s more than just the win-loss record. Anybody who has watched this year’s team play knows that the brand of baseball on the South Side of Chicago is significantly improved. The daily lineup and active roster is night and day from where it was this time last year.
The White Sox lineup from one year ago is evidence of progress
A resurfaced tweet that featured an old White Sox starting lineup gave me a harsh reminder about just how bad things were 365 days ago.
On September 2, 2024, the White Sox deployed a lineup against the Baltimore Orioles that featured Nicky Lopez leading off with Corey Julks, Zach DeLoach, Jacob Amaya, Dominic Fletcher, and the bad version of Miguel Vargas.
Chuckie Robinson also took an at-bat and played catcher for the White Sox in that game.
It’s been exactly 1 year since perhaps the worst lineup for the worst baseball team ever was trotted out.
— Dylan Barnas (@NotCease) September 3, 2025
I’ve lived thousands of lives in a single year. https://t.co/E6f3YYrijP
A full year later, the White Sox don’t have any duds in their regular starting lineup. With Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero, all getting at-bats on a nightly basis, the White Sox have not been this fun to watch in a while. Every spot in the order has intrigue around it.
Andrew Benintendi might have been the most interesting player in that lineup from 2024. There’s an argument to be made that he is the least interesting player suiting up for the White Sox regularly today.
It just goes to show the progress that can be made in a single season. Chris Getz and the White Sox front office have been slowly chipping away at the issues that have plagued the team for years. They’re still a ways away, but another offseason of additions and year of development could lead to 15-20 game improvement in 2026.
If that’s the case, the White Sox will start to earn a lot more respect around baseball and be primed for another competitive window.
It has felt like a really long year, but if the White Sox keep going in their current direction, they’ll be playing competitive baseball again before we know it.