The 2024 Chicago White Sox may be in the running for consideration as the worst baseball team of the modern era, but everything doesn’t have to be doom and gloom.
Optimists may even point out that it’s totally possible for a team to go from worst-to-first from one season to the next. Not only is it possible, but it’s happened many times in the recent past.
Baseball life changes fast these days. There have only been 13 teams to go from worst to first– last place to first place– from one season to the next. But, serving as a testament to the changing baseball times, all 13 instances of last place to first place have occurred within the last 34 years.
A Lesson in Bouncing Back From The Cubs
White Sox crosstown rival, the Cubs, were one of those teams. In 2006, the North Siders lost 96 games. In 2007, an overhauled team– bolstered by free agents Alfonso Soriano, Ted Lilly and Mark DeRosa and led by new manager Lou Piniella– took the NL Central title, notching 85 wins.
But before setting aside money for post-season White Sox tickets, fans should come to terms with the fact that expecting the same from their black-and-white boys would be fantastical, to the point of almost being science fiction.
This is a team, after all, that finished the 2024 campaign with a 41-121 mark– WITH a full season of Garrett Crochet and a half-season of Erick Fedde, who was traded at the trade deadline). The Sox will be headed into this 2025 season without those two prodigious arms and a restocked farm system that only hopes to to produce some stars down the road.
Dark Chicago White Sox Days Ahead, But For How Long?
In a recent piece, ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield expressed just the right level of optimism-tinged skepticism when assessing the team’s immediate future.
Per Schoenfield:
“Light at the end of the tunnel? The White Sox aren’t even in the tunnel yet.
You know what, though? These depressing situations can turn around quicker than people realize. Heck, just last year, the Royals went from 56 wins in 2023 to the playoffs the following season, although the White Sox admittedly don’t have a Bobby Witt Jr. on their roster. The Orioles went from 110 losses in 2021 to 101 wins in 2023. The Tigers lost 119 games in 2003 and were in the World Series three years later. It can happen.”
So, fret not White Sox fans (Okay, fret a little), fortunes can change.
Optimism for the Chicago White Sox? Ummm…
The team DID pick up a mighty haul of quality young talent from the deals involving Crochet, Fedde, and Michael Kopech and the returns may pay dividends sooner than anticipated.
But, then again, the Sox were considered a rising young team with a “can’t miss” collection of young talent as recently as two or three years back. We all saw how rapidly and completely things went south.
Jon A of JonPGH MLB Data Warehouse is all but writing off the White Sox and encouraging fans to go about other business until the team gets its act together:
“What I am saying is that you can dump the White Sox temporarily. Wait until they are good again, and then come back. They will take you back, I promise. Fairweather is the best weather. The bandwagon is the best wagon.”
At this point, who knows? Maybe the best possible battle cry from a struggling White Sox franchise and their long-suffering fans is a loud, hearty “Let’s hope for the best!”
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