On Tuesday afternoon, the Chicago White Sox will play in their first playoff game in over 12 years. Against the Athletics, in Oakland, the White will need to win two of the best of three series to advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs next week. For as big as the moment will be for the team, it will be even larger for the fanbase, and hopefully, the fanbase will remember to enjoy the extra baseball.
White Sox starting lineup on October 6th 2008, the last playoff game the team played in:
Orlando Cabrera SS
A.J. Pierzynski C
Jermaine Dye RF
Jim Thome DH
Paul Konerko 1B
Ken Griffey Jr. CF
Alexei Ramirez 2B
Dewayne Wise LF
Juan Uribe 3BGavin Floyd P
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) September 29, 2020
The 2020 White Sox season is a success already given that they made the playoffs for the first time following a rebuild. Expectations were high in spring training back in March, but those expectations were delays due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the uncertainty of the 2020 MLB season. When the season began in late-July, the White Sox got off to a terrible start losing four of their first five games.
"It’s do or die." – @TimAnderson7
Time to work. 💼 pic.twitter.com/GduSrqhKwo
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 28, 2020
Chicago rebounded as they won 19 games in August and were one of the best teams in baseball up until last week. A six-game losing streak dropped them from being the best team in the American League to being the seventh-place team heading into the playoffs.
For as bad as the White Sox played this past week, along with all the negatives surrounding the team, fans still need to have fun with the playoff games going ahead. Whether the Sox’s last game is played on Wednesday or on October 28th, it is playoff baseball that the fanbase has waited over a decade to see. Avid supporters put up with a three-year rebuild for the type of games that will be played by the team starting Tuesday.
Jose Abreu:
• 72 hits (1st in MLB)
• 53 RBI (1st in MLB)
• .650 SLG (1st in AL)
• 18 HR (2nd in MLB)
• 1.030 OPS (2nd in AL)
• .430 xOBA (2nd in AL)
• 179 wRC+ (2nd in AL)
• 2.7 fWAR (2nd in AL)Why’s this even a debate? Give this man the MVP. pic.twitter.com/SQPMkfXBm9
— Danny Vietti (@DannyVietti) September 22, 2020
Another reason why fans need to have fun with the playoffs this season is because it will be the only time they will be able to enjoy White Sox playoff baseball going forward. The team is not only expected to make the playoffs over the next five years but contend for a World Series each year. If the White Sox fail to make the playoffs in any of those years, the fan base will automatically see the season as a complete failure. The only expectation for the team this season was for them to compete for a playoff spot, which they did. Anything that happens in the playoffs this year is added cavoite for White Sox fans.
I’m already nervous about the White Sox playoff game and it isn’t even happening until tomorrow afternoon.
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) September 28, 2020
Fans can criticize the struggles of the team and whether or not manager Ricky Renteria deserves to be fired in the offseason. Every pitch of the playoffs will be criticized by White Sox fans, but fans also need to enjoy the moment while in the moment. With everything that has gone on with the team in 2020, the fanbase should embrace the excitement of the playoffs. There is a tremendous opportunity that lies ahead for the team and the fanbase, no matter what the outcome.
