This October will mark the 20th anniversary of the 2005 Chicago White Sox and their World Series Championship run.
With the 2025 iteration of the team missing the playoffs, I figured there’s no time like the present to remember the remarkable ‘05 postseason and all it’s memorable moments, and I’m inviting you to come along for the journey.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be recapping every 2005 White Sox postseason game like it’s happening in real time. Spoiler alert: The White Sox win in the end.
There’s no better place to start than the postseason clinching game in Detroit from September 29, 2005.
The White Sox led start to finish
Nobody predicted the 2005 White Sox to be an October threat. Having just moved on from franchise players Magglio Ordóñez, Carlos Lee, and José Valentín, it felt like the White Sox were in a transition year. The problem is, nobody told the players that.
The White Sox led the AL Central from beginning to end. Aside from an August cold streak and an incredible run by Cleveland that ultimately came up short, there was no real drama involved.
The White Sox closed out the season with a seven-game road trip to Detroit and Cleveland, and after dropping the first two in Detroit, they found themselves just one win away from clinching a playoff birth.
Konerko's 40th home run powers White Sox early
The White Sox sent Freddy Garcia to the mound against Tigers starter Jason Grilli, who was having a solid season in 2005.
The White Sox got the offense started early, as a two out double by Jermaine Dye and a walk to Paul Konerko were followed up by a two-run triple off the bat of Carl Everett. An A.J. Pierzynski double followed by a Scott Podsednik sacrifice fly added another in the second, and the White Sox quickly got out to a 3-0 lead.
Paul Konerko made it a 4-0 ball game with his 40th home run of the season leading off the sixth inning. Freddy Garcia cruised through six scoreless innings, but ran into a bit of a hiccup in the seventh, allowing a pair of singles and a run to score on a wild pitch.
Garcia came out for the eighth inning, but left the game after allowing a leadoff single to Tigers 2B Plácido Polanco. Reliever Cliff Politte was able to retire Chris Shelton, but former White Sox OF Magglio Ordóñez burned him with an RBI double to cut the lead to 4-2.
After lefty reliever Neal Cotts came in to retire Carlos Peña, manager Ozzie Guillen turned to his big rookie closer Bobby Jenks for the four-out save. Jenks got through the eighth, and the White Sox took their two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning, just three outs away from the division title.
Bobby Jenks shuts the door to clinch the division
The first two men reached base for the Tigers in the ninth inning on a single by Brandon Inge and an error on White Sox second baseman Willie Harris.
Fortunately, Bobby Jenks’s stuff was overwhelming that day. The rookie struck out both Dmitri Young and Curtis Granderson before a Polanco lineout finished the ballgame and gave the White Sox their first division title since 2000.
The White Sox went on to win their final four games of the regular season, including a sweep in Cleveland, just for good measure.
Overall, the White Sox finished the 2005 regular season 99-63, just one win short of their franchise record 100 wins set in 1917. It was a great end to a remarkable regular season for a team that nobody expected to even make the playoffs, and the White Sox were ready to prove that not only could they make the playoffs, but they could compete with the big dogs.
They’d get that opportunity right away, as the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox were headed to Chicago for the ALDS. I’ll be recapping Game 1 of the White Sox-Red Sox ALDS on October 4.