Getz admits ‘sting’ from White Sox ALDS loss, but is happy with positive steps

CHICAGO -- Chris Getz probably envisioned a few White Sox victory cigars being lit up following Game 5 of the American League Division Series Saturday night in Cleveland.

Let’s also not forget the regulation clubhouse champagne celebration. Those thoughts had to cross his mind during Game 3 and Game 4 in Chicago, with his team coming back to raucous Blackout crowds at Rate Field holding a 2-0 series edge.

Instead, the White Sox general manager was in that visitors’ clubhouse thanking his young and exciting team for a great season coming to an end via a 2-0 loss to the Guardians. The setback featured 21 White Sox strikeouts, setting a postseason and regular-season record for a nine-inning game.

It was the messages Getz received in return that reinforced the truly special feeling brought about by this 84-win campaign following up three straight seasons with 100-plus defeats.

“Almost to a player, to a man, they thanked me, they thanked us for believing in them,” said Getz during his 45-minute season-wrap Zoom on Wednesday. “Once I heard that and felt that, it certainly brought peace from a very stinging feeling from losing to Cleveland.”

This 2026 season wasn’t supposed to feature a near-miss from a trip to the American League Championship Series for a White Sox team entrenched in the latest rebuild. In reality, a .500 record would have been considered a vast success.

Even White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who also was in Cleveland supporting the team after Saturday’s tough loss, thought ‘27 was more of a realistic playoff target for the organization. Yet they surpassed all expectations, aside from their own.

From SoxFest in late January, through Spring Training, through 1-5 and 6-13 starts to the regular season, the White Sox players believed when nobody else might have followed.

“Trying to make this a player-first organization and trying to support these guys both on and off the field, I felt we made strides in those spaces,” Getz said. “We were able to get more positive outcomes this year because of that.

“As a whole, it certainly stings to be eliminated from the playoffs the way that we did. But zooming out further, it’s important to recognize how proud I am of our player group as an organization, and how excited I am for the future based on what we were able to establish this season.”

Getz should focus on the positive, while also thinking about what might have been.

On Aug. 16, the White Sox held a 5 1/2-game lead in the AL Central and were six up on a Cleveland team sitting five games under .500. Chicago hit a high-water mark of 72-63 on Aug. 29, and maintained a 4 1/2-game advantage over the Guardians, only to lose out by one game in the final division standings.

Four straight wins to start the postseason swept the Astros during the AL Wild Card round and put the White Sox within one win of facing the Rays in the ALCS. That goal fell short with three straight losses to the Guardians, but Getz looks more at a positive culmination from the experience gained within the sting of losing.

“More than anything, I think about the emotions of playing in those critical moments. Some of our players responded really well, and there were times where they got sped up,” Getz said. “So to really learn from having to regulate those emotions on that stage, I think is only going to serve them well.

“We don’t get this opportunity to make those adjustments without experiencing it. Very grateful we got those opportunities. I can’t think of anything better to experience for future development.”

All of the White Sox coaches under Will Venable, who should receive strong consideration for AL Manager of the Year, are expected to return. Adding starting pitching will be a White Sox priority after playing to their strengths in the postseason through their talented bullpen, but featuring just one starter in Sean Burke.

Having their depth of talent on the infield -- at the Major League and Minor League levels -- not only is a good problem to have, but was also by design from Getz and the front office. Now Getz’s team focus becomes a bit more acute, as he stated Wednesday: continue to build and develop, while adding to this special playoff group.

“I look at the hires we’ve made both internally, the coaching staff, that have led to the development of our young players and some of the acquisitions along the way that have really thrived in our clubhouse,” Getz said. “So, we certainly want to continue to find ways to fuel this organization and the foundation which has allowed us to get to where we are today.”