This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO – My main focus for today’s newsletter was to propose a moratorium on mentions involving the 2024 White Sox.
I understand how pronounced the comparisons are between the surprising but inspiring current success for the South Siders next to the forgettable campaign from three seasons ago. But even in a rebuild, that ’24 campaign should never come close to happening again.
Their 121 losses are a Modern Era record (since 1901). They had a 6-48 stretch overall at one point, and as mentioned in Sunday’s White Sox game notes, had a 1-28 plummeting at home from July 10 to Sept. 13.
“That seems like it was 10 years ago,” said White Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi.
“Yeah, I don’t want to remember too much about ’24,” added third baseman Miguel Vargas.
Vargas and Benintendi are two of five currently active White Sox who also were part of the ’24 squad, joining right-handed starters Sean Burke, Davis Martin and Erick Fedde.
Reliever Jordan Leasure appeared in 33 games during ’24 but is currently on the injured list. Catcher Korey Lee and right-hander Jonathan Cannon remain in the system with Triple-A Charlotte, while outfielder Brooks Baldwin, right-handers Drew Thorpe and Prelander Berroa and left-hander Ky Bush are on the injured list with Leasure.
So, it’s a total of 12 White Sox players who have stayed around from ’24. Looking back at that time certainly presents a perspective as to how much this organization has grown.
“To be honest, it used to be a disdain type, gross thing to talk about,” said Martin, who made 10 starts among his 11 appearances in ’24 during a return from Tommy John surgery. “But now it’s more exciting just to see how far we’ve come in two years.
“Fans use that more as an exciting thing to see how far we’ve come: That’s your marker. I don’t think anybody in here is taking it as we need to stop talking about 2024. It is what it is. It just shows the work we’ve put in the last two years to put us in a position to be where we are at right now.”
True development was evident on the field in ’25, when the White Sox moved from 41 victories to 60. More importantly, they found their manager and leader with Will Venable, and the rebuild core such as shortstop Colson Montgomery, catcher Kyle Teel, second baseman Chase Meidroth and right-handed reliever Grant Taylor made their Major League impact after the All-Star break.
Venable, general manager Chris Getz, and the exceptional front office he put together refined the coaching staff going into ’26. Many more prospects hit the big leagues while the others grew and matured, coupled with the Munetaka Murakami addition, and the results are a first-place team in the American League Central with 78 games to play.
As for that overwhelming home failure in ’24? It has morphed into a 28-14 mark at Rate Field, the second-best home record in baseball.
“Every day, 28,000 people out there, it’s fun. We can feel the energy,” Vargas said. “We can match the energy. Even when we are down in the 9th inning, nobody has left their seats. We want to match all they bring to us.
“We were joking the other day, we kind of feel we have home advantage like football and basketball. We all know that’s not a thing in baseball. But now when we come here, it’s kind of how we feel about it.”
Burke posted a 1.42 ERA over his first four big league games in ’24, so it was a memorable season for him in a separate debut way. He still understood what had happened with some of his teammates.
“I could see the expression on the guys’ faces, the wear and tear from the season on them mentally, more so than physically, having that rough go,” Burke said. “So, it was tough.
“Last year, it wasn’t our best year either, but it was a necessary year to get to where we are now. Fans understand it’s different. The rest of the league understands it’s different. It’s not something we pay attention to but it’s one of those things like whatever, you know. … It’s a whole different team, different coaching staff. Just people in general.”
Comparing the ’26 team to ’24 when they reached win No. 42 with a 22-1 thrashing of the Royals made some sense. It’s a necessary evil on this road to excellence. But it’s far more energy to live where their feet presently are, as Martin mentioned.
“From the staff all the way down, the feeling has changed,” Benintendi said. “In years past, you show up and you are like, ‘Hopefully we win.’ Now it’s like we expect to win.”
“I told this to everybody when we went into the offseason: It’s the most excited I’ve ever been to go to an offseason,” Martin said. “I felt like this is how close we are. We do these few things right, we take these few steps here, we are going to be in a good spot.”