CHICAGO – Sean Burke was standing in front of his locker at Globe Life Field prior to Monday’s series opener at the Rangers when he was informed his White Sox were only four games behind the Rays for the American League’s No. 1 seed.
“I didn’t even know about the top spot until you said that,” the emerging ace of the White Sox staff said.
After a 10-3 victory on that same Monday, shortstop Colson Montgomery was told his talented squad had reached a season-best seven games over .500.
“I didn’t even know we were really seven over,” said Montgomery, talking through the pain of fouling a pitch off his right shin/calf area.
Do you sense a pattern, even with only two examples?
The White Sox don’t care. Not in an angry, sort of defiant way. In fact, it’s one of the traits making this team so downright entertaining.
There’s not much worry beyond the day’s game and preparing to put the best effort forward on that upcoming afternoon or night. Comments such as these from professional athletes can come off as media platitudes, making them look more at ease than what actually is transpiring.
For the White Sox, it’s simply the fun of success.
“Oh, yeah. It’s the best part,” said right-hander Mike Vasil of his team’s overall enjoyment. “We are playing baseball for a living. It’s supposed to be fun.”
For most of the 2026 season, nobody has embodied that idea more than Vasil. He has gone from a valuable reliever during the ’25 campaign to a pitcher dealing with Tommy John surgery in Spring Training to the purveyor of baseball magic with his Amazon-purchased $20 wand and wizard’s hat, of course, to the emcee for three White Sox All-Star announcements.
That sort of fun-loving but focused attitude runs throughout the clubhouse, and they don’t skimp on the fun. Take a look at the outfielders’ double Dutch jump rope celebration introduced after victories since the All-Star break.
Business is about to pick up for this fun bunch. They exited Texas with a second straight road series win after the All-Star break, equaled a season-high of seven games over .500 at 54-47 and hold a one-game lead over the Guardians in the American League Central with 61 games remaining.
General manager Chris Getz, who watched over probably the most exciting week of White Sox baseball since the 2005 World Series championship beginning on the Friday before the All-Star break, has interesting decisions to make. Getz’s White Sox weren’t supposed to be this good in ’26, but they certainly are. The division, let alone the AL, was projected to be better overall, but it’s not.
They currently hold the No. 2 AL seed if the playoffs were to start today, now trailing the Rays by five games for No. 1. There’s a development component still involved for a roster flush with such young players, but with a key move or two from Getz before the Trade Deadline, this surprise crew to everyone but the White Sox could become a bona fide World Series contender.
What do the present White Sox players think about potential additions? Maybe bring on a veteran catcher with Kyle Teel sidelined anywhere from five to 12 weeks with a high left ankle sprain, or pitching reinforcements?
Remember, they have daily work to do. They don’t care … to a point.
“Our focus is winning the division and then going from there,” Burke said. “Come out here and take care of business every single day. You look up and it’s, ‘Oh … We are tied for the best record in the AL’ or whatever it is.”
“There’s a beauty to not realizing, in a way, with what we are doing and what we’ve done in the past, how special this year is,” Vasil said. “At the same time, we are a very talented team. This is by no means a fluke … We are all not shocked we are doing what we are doing.”
Entering the ’25 All-Star break, the White Sox had a 32-65 record before finishing at 60-102. They have the chance to go from 33 games under .500 on July 13, 2025, to a team with some level of integral home field playoff advantage a little over one year later.
And this show is far from finished.
“Long way to go. It’s still July,” said second baseman Chase Meidroth. “Take care of business … It’s just day by day. Can’t control two months down the road.”
“Just keep our head down, do what we do each day,” Montgomery said. “Play hard, and if we get down, so what? We are going to trust the pitchers to keep us in the game and we are going to do whatever we can to drive the runs across.”