CHICAGO -- White Sox fans are waiting to party like it’s 1906.
Their favorite team is on the verge of clinching only the second playoff series at home in franchise history, and the first since the White Sox beat the Cubs in six games in the World Series a whopping 120 years ago.
After three seasons of 100-plus losses and sitting two years removed from a single-season Modern Era record of 121 losses, these fans certainly are ready to celebrate.
Sean Newcomb will start for the White Sox on Wednesday in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
“We are about to go back to a zoo,” said right-hander Davis Martin, the longest-tenured White Sox player by service time. “It’s going to be wild. It’s going to be crazy. If Mune [Murakami] hits a ball 900 feet, it’s going to be loud as heck. We are all excited to hear it and be a part of it."
“Our fans, they deserve baseball in October for the Chicago White Sox,” third baseman Miguel Vargas said. “They have been a huge piece this year for us. We are all excited to go back home."
The White Sox enter on a four-game playoff winning streak, holding a 2-0 lead on the Guardians and a chance to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 2005.
In that memorable ‘05 season, the White Sox clinched the AL Central in Detroit, the ALDS in Boston and the ALCS in Anaheim. They finished off a four-game World Series sweep in Houston.
Expect Rate Field to be rocking. The White Sox are calling on fans for a blackout Wednesday despite the 3:08 p.m. CT first pitch. Coincidentally, the closest the club came to a home clinch was in ’08, during the famous Blackout Game, when the White Sox beat the Twins, 1-0, in the AL Central tiebreaker.
“[The fans] helped us grow. They've been there every step of the way as far as the growth of this club, the belief of this club,” manager Will Venable said. “When you're a player and there's no one in the stands, you kind of question who you are. When you're on the field and there's a bunch of people there, that gives you confidence that you're a good club that people are paying good money to come see.
“Not to mention the actual energy that you get from them when they do show up. When you think of the growth of the club, when you think of the success of the club, it has absolutely been fueled by our fans, and it's a special thing. Of course I wanted to win games in Cleveland, but regardless of how that went in Cleveland, I was just so excited to have a game, at least one game here, in which our fans got to watch our guys play in the playoffs."
There’s no word yet on who will throw out Wednesday’s ceremonial first pitch, but fans are having fun with the options. Social media guesses range from Pope Leo XIV to President Barack Obama, who are both loyal White Sox fans. Other guesses include Mark Buehrle and Paul Konerko, integral parts of the ’05 team who have their respective numbers retired and concourse statues at Rate Field.
Let’s not forget Joakim Noah, who wasn’t exactly an ardent fan of Cleveland during his highly successful playing days with the Chicago Bulls, and/or Derrick Rose.
“I don't think it's going to be anything like [an atmosphere] we've been in this year,” reliever Bryan Hudson said. “And I think it's going to be awesome. Like all the boys are going to have some extra energy.”
“Once we got through yesterday's game, my mind went straight to what kind of an environment are we going to have in Chicago, knowing the importance of this game, what it represents, with this team?” general manager Chris Getz said. “This fan base has been so supportive throughout the year. I've said it many times; our player group, they really respond well to our fan base. I really do credit our fans for being a part of that development.”