Saturday, September 26

CHICAGO -- I’m walking from my downtown Minnesota hotel room to Target Field on April 22, 2024, when my cell phone rings.

It was a colleague and a friend of mine, a reporter who really knows baseball, a reporter I really respect, a reporter who had recently watched that incarnation of the White Sox. We exchange pleasantries before he hits me with the following line, which I’m paraphrasing:

“I really feel bad for you. This is the worst team I’ve ever seen.”

And at that point, the 2024 White Sox were just 3-18. They had a 4-41 stretch on the way, along with a 1-29 cratering at home, which still astonishes me to this day.

My reaction to the White Sox success or failure is meaningless, although the call was a nice gesture. So, why am I mentioning the moment in the midst of this wonderful White Sox renaissance?

Sometimes things have to get much worse before they get better. Sometimes the right plan is in place even if the results take a bit to become tangible.

“There’s been so many lessons along the way. And yeah, you have to find your smaller wins -- you have to. So much of the focus has been the development of players,” said White Sox general manager Chris Getz after Thursday’s playoff-clinching victory in Kansas City. “But the fact that not only did so many players continue to develop, they figured out how to win and accomplish something together.

“Nothing is sweeter than getting into the playoffs and then continuing the journey with the group of people. That’s why professional sports and baseball is so special to me and so special to so many people, because it’s a team effort.

“When you do accomplish something, you’re doing it with so many different people and you impact fans and everyone that’s invested in the team,” Getz added. “It means a lot. We are not done, but man, it feels really good right now.”

Things clearly were bad in 2024, as reinforced by players such as Andrew Benintendi and Miguel Vargas, who were part of that history made in the wrong direction. Now, those two are integral contributors on a team believing there’s no ceiling for postseason accomplishments.

One or two years ahead of schedule? Not in the minds of the White Sox. This team believed before wins started piling up. They believed after being swept in Milwaukee to start this campaign. They believed following a 6-13 start, and they believed after tough losses momentarily took them down in September.

Let’s be honest: They believed back in January when this team hadn’t even begun its work in full force.

“We’ve been chasing this moment for a long time,” Vargas said. “It’s special for us, it’s special for the organization. It’s a special group of guys. It’s the most fun you can have. It’s very enjoyable. Very proud of each other, too.”

“You know as the season progressed, this team certainly had a fight to it that wasn’t necessarily prognosticated by all the experts,” White Sox assistant general manager Jin Wong said. “You put the players’ good makeup together with talent and it played out perfectly.”

Not only did the White Sox win, but they won with a dugout wizard, clubhouse bidets and 1984 Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle getting married to his longtime girlfriend in a ceremony performed by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf during a game in Reinsdorf’s suite. They did so with feisty leadoff hitter Sam Antonacci chuckling at a question about 67 games remaining because, of course, 6-7.

They did so with Pope Hats and Mike Vasil wand giveaways. They did so with rookie Tristan Peters, who once played for the Savannah Bananas and met his wife line dancing in Arizona, hitting for the cycle and homering in five straight games.

They did so by sticking to the process set up by Getz. They did so by turning small, incremental wins into gradually moving atop the American League Central for more than 90 days. And there’s more to come, whether it’s this year or the years ahead.

That colleague and friend who was stunned in 2024 saw this year’s team and was equally impressed. He’s one of the many barometers judging this group’s arrival.

“Everyone that’s watched this season unfold can really take away something that can apply to just how you go about your life,” Getz said. “You face adversity and you lean into what it takes to be successful.

“This group has proven that. I couldn’t be any happier that these guys get a chance to play in the playoffs.”

Don Cooper was one of the best pitching coaches in the game for close to two decades, and to quote Frank Sinatra, Coop did it his way. He was a baseball original, and he was always available, always direct and always colorful, but truly informative. He was fiercely protective and fiercely loyal to his pitchers, but expected the best.

We had countless good talks about everything from baseball to our families that I still have not forgotten. He was a good man and will definitely be missed.

• I hadn’t covered a White Sox clubhouse clinching celebration since the 2008 Blackout Game, the single-best game I’ve witnessed. It still hasn’t lost that special feeling.

•  My mom is turning 91 on Sept. 30. She’s the toughest person I know, the sweetest person and the biggest influence on my life. Happy birthday, Phyllis Merkin!

• Here’s part of my three days in Kansas City: Cleaned my hair with body wash instead of shampoo by accident, pulled into an apartment complex thinking it was my hotel and complained when there was no valet and then put my bag next to my rental car only to have it almost roll into the street before I chased it down. But Thursday was fun.

• Roddy Gayle Jr., welcome back to the University of Michigan men’s basketball team. A second straight national title would look outstanding.

• Best of luck to Kendall Smith, who is moving on from her expert work with Triple-A Charlotte to take on the role of team and in-arena reporter with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. She produced years of comprehensive, informative and entertaining coverage for the Knights.

“With the addition of Will [Venable] -- his persona, his demeanor, his credibility, etc. -- that’s when we started to feel like the pertinent pieces were really coming together.” -- White Sox director of player development Paul Janish

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