KANSAS CITY -- The final out of a 9-1 White Sox victory over the Royals on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium came via John Rave’s groundout to second baseman Sam Antonacci on a close play at first with pitcher Trevor Richards covering the base.
That out meant one emotional sentiment and eight simple words had come true: The 2026 White Sox are going to the playoffs.
So how did the White Sox react? With the same somewhat businesslike nature for victory No. 82, as they did for victory No. 81.
Well, that depiction was accurate at least on the field. The clubhouse celebration was postseason quality.
“You know how the past couple seasons have been with us. We always envisioned this,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said. “Deep down and everything like that, we all believed in ourselves, believed in each other. For this to come to fruition, it's awesome."
“Tremendous,” first baseman Munetaka Murakami said via interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “This is unbelievable.”
As both players spoke to the assembled media, a massive celebration was going on behind them. Players were jumping around, pouring various alcoholic beverages upon each other and singing to whatever song came across the visiting clubhouse speakers.
It wasn’t karaoke, although most of these voices should be limited to karaoke. It was a brotherhood, a recognition of the hard work going into this first postseason step. And they sure did have fun along the way.
“I’ve said this before: This is like a fraternity that plays baseball together,” assistant general manager Jin Wong told MLB.com, while standing just off to the side of the rowdiness. “How tight they are, how close they all are. They play for each other. They play for the name on the front of the jerseys and not the back.”
“There are some emotional losses, some tough losses, and certainly from my perspective and you wonder,” general manager Chris Getz said. “But you know what? It doesn’t really matter what I think because this group believes. They do.”
A few somewhat complicated playoff permutations floated around prior to Royals starter Randy Dobnak’s first pitch to Antonacci, but the most basic formula was easy to follow: The White Sox win and they are in. They didn’t ponder that concept for long, with Antonacci hitting the second pitch for a single and the team scoring three in the first and three in the second off Dobnak.
David Sandlin was strong on the mound, giving up Salvador Perez’s 20th home run over six innings, and possibly strengthening his case for a postseason roster spot. He struck out seven and didn’t issue a free pass amid 85 pitches.
“It meant the world, especially to go against the team that drafted me and in a position to put us in the playoffs,” said Sandlin, who was selected by the Royals in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. “That’s all I could think about, going out there and succeeding for the team and the guys that have worked their tails off all year.”
Three relievers later, and this playoff mission was complete. The group eventually made their way to the field, where numerous team photos were snapped. That’s the spot where Getz held court with the media, speaking like a proud father or a CEO who just watched his work crew have an exceptionally strong year.
Anyone who has watched this exciting young team throughout the present campaign understands manager Will Venable’s charges deserve exactly what they have earned. Even with so much more on the line, there was time to enjoy the culmination.
Next on the agenda is winning the American League Central. The White Sox entered Thursday night trailing the Guardians by a half-game pending their result against the Red Sox, but Chicago owns the tiebreaker by virtue of a 7-6 season-series edge.
The Rockies visit the White Sox for three games this weekend at Rate Field to finish the regular season, bringing their 102 losses and three scheduled starting pitchers with an ERA over 5.30. That group includes former White Sox standout Jose Quintana, who is slated to start on Saturday.
“We have important ballgames left to go, but right now it’s about celebrating and being happy for an incredible accomplishment," Venable said. “They know what this is about. It comes with the expectation that this was going to happen. We’ll have a fun plane ride and then back to business tomorrow.”
“With off-days built in, our staff and our bullpen is good enough,” outfielder Randal Grichuk said. “Our offense showed they can put up runs. It’s once you get in, it’s who is playing hot. There’s somebody unexpected that takes a deep run. We are built for it.”