If you've been watching Chicago White Sox baseball for a long time, you probably remember a few players from around Major League Baseball that always seem to get the better of them.
Former White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Hawk Harrelson referred to them as "White Sox killers" every time the South Siders had to deal with one of these foes.
Former Minnesota Twins outfielder Jason Kubel hit 22 of his 140 career home runs against the White Sox. Those 22 homers came on 285 at-bats. Kubel was an average big league outfielder for 10 years, but when he played the Sox, he hit like a 40+ homer MVP candidate.
20 of Ryan Raburn's 93 career home runs came against the White Sox. From 2004-2015, Raburn was with the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians before moving to the National League in 2016. Raburn had a career OPS of .752, but against the South Siders, it was at .872 in 122 games.
Victor Martinez also spent a lot of time in Cleveland and Detroit. He posted a career average of .323 when he went against the White Sox with 32 home runs and 131 RBIs. Martinez hit .423 in his career against White Sox southpaw Chris Sale.
These are some examples of peak White Sox killers of the past. But it appears the Sox have a new worst enemy playing in the AL Central. Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter has owned Chicago this season.
Kerry Carpenter is a White Sox killer
Carpenter blasted three home runs against the White Sox as his Tigers routed Chicago by a final score of 13-1 on Monday.
In his last five games agains the White Sox, Carpenter has seven (7) hits. They are all home runs. The only other MLB player with seven or more home runs and no other hits over a five-game span against one team is Willie Stargell against the 1971 Braves, per OptaSTATS.
Carpenter has an OPS of 1.579 against the White Sox this season. Games against Chicago also account for six (6) of his 13 home runs.
Until further notice, Carpenter owns the Sox. It's a reality that Sox fans are going to need to get comfortable with. The Tigers are currently the best team in baseball with a 40-21 record. They also have the league's best run differential (+98). They are well coached, have depth at every position, and a handful of All-Star players that are under longterm contract control.
Carpenter is under contract with Detroit through the 2028 season. He's not going anywhere.
The White Sox are 3-14 against the the Tigers since the beginning of the 2024 regular season with five of those losses coming by five or more runs.