South Side — Baseball Bench Coach

I’ve heard the rumblings. Hey Coach, how about focusing on the American League for once, and in particular, an up and coming team not that far from you, the Chicago White Sox? With the class of the AL, the Houston Astros, in town for a rare doubleheader this past week, I took the Red Line “L” south to 35th and Sox to visit Guaranteed Rate Field. It was time to explore GRF, AL baseball, and the team many of my friends support, the South Side Sox. Do good guys really wear black?

After almost a century of playing baseball at old Comiskey Park, the White Sox opened its new ballpark in 1991 and aptly named it new Comiskey Park. In 2003 corporate sponsorship took hold and the ballpark was renamed US Cellular Field. It became Guaranteed Rate Field prior to the 2017 season (yes, a woeful name for what I found to be a nice place to watch baseball). GRF was the last ballpark built before all of the retro-classic ones, and it does lack in some of the old-time feel, especially the high upper deck seating too far from the playing field. It retains though some very historic pieces, such as statues behind the lower level seating of the great Sox in the past, Minnie Minoso, Carlton Fisk, Luis Aparicio, Harold Baines, Nellie Fox, and Frank Thomas. And did I mention the FOOD (some of baseball’s finest), where I opted of course for a Chicago grilled hot dog and a Goose Island draft beer to make me feel right at home!

The new ballpark has had some great baseball played there since its opening. Three seasons stand out. In 1993 Bo Jackson, one of the greatest athletes of our time, starred for the Sox. On opening day that year he homered in his first at bat, and then hit a home run late in the season to defeat the Mariners in the game the White Sox clinched the AL West. The 2005 season though was one for the ages. In the ALCS against the Angels, then Senator Barack Obama, a lifetime Sox fan, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the second game of the series, and the White Sox went on to never lose in the playoffs again that year. The Sox captured the AL pennant 4 games to 1, the first time since 1959. And even the 88-year world championship drought would end later that month in the World Series sweep of the Houston Astros, then in the NL. The White Sox also won a division title in 2008, as they defeated the Twins in a one-game playoff in the famous “black out game”, where all the fans wore black clothing. Yes, good guys can wear black!

Prior to the game I always check the lineups, and of course at an American League park I wince. You see, both teams have a designated hitter! The DH rule was adopted in 1973 by the AL and allows one player to bat in place of the pitcher. It’s been kind of a sore spot for the MLB because its two leagues don’t play by the same rules; the National League has not adopted the DH rule. In 1980, the NL last took a vote on the rule and it failed; 4 yes, 5 no, and 3 abstentions. Since the advent of interleague play, the DH governs in AL home parks, while NL ballparks have the pitchers hit. We would need a separate blog piece to debate the issue, but suffice to say your Coach loves the late-inning strategy of NL games, not the offense-oriented mentality of the DH rule. It’s incredible though that we have had the two different rules for almost 50 years.

The men in orange, the Houston Astros, were the White Sox opponents last week at GRF. Among today’s AL powerhouse teams, I am firmly in the Astros camp. Part of it is the NL roots of the Astros (they changed leagues in 2013), but mainly it is their story. Prior to Houston’s world championship in 2017, the Astros went through a major rebuild, suffering through three 100-loss seasons (2011-2013). The Astros, helped by some early picks in the MLB draft, built its core around George Springer, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley, superstar Carlos Correa, and now this year’s sensation Yordan Alvarez (AL Rookie of the month for June and July). This star-studded lineup, now coupled with a sensational starting staff of Justin Verlander, Zach Greinke, Gerrit Cole and Wade Miley, are poised to make a run at another AL title this season.

Will black be the new orange in the AL someday soon? The White Sox sure hope that is the case as the South Siders are clearly Astros wannabes. With every organization revamp, it begins at the top. For the Astros that means Jeff Luhnow, its general manager and president of baseball operations. He began his career in the scouting department of the Cardinals, and soon after his hiring in 2011 Luhnow became the architect of the rebuild. The White Sox hope they have that same kind of maestro in Rick Hahn, its vice president and general manager. Interestingly, Luhnow and Hahn have similar roots, both graduates of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management here in Chicago. With some early draft choices and trades involving current talent for top prospects, Hahn hopes he has laid the same brick work in Chicago as Luhnow did in Houston.

The White Sox’s young stars include Eloy Jiminez and Yoan Moncado, both of whom reached the big leagues with great fanfare. Early play suggests that they are much more than the hype. And top prospect Luis Robert, skyrocketing through the Sox minor league system this year and now in AAA, will soon be in the Big Leagues. All three have the talent to be mainstays on the AL all-star roster for years to come. They are bolstered by vets like shortstop Tim Anderson, catcher James McCann, and stalwart first baseman Jose Abreu, each of whom was a 2019 AL All-Star. Every rebuild needs some phenoms on the mound, and the Sox have just that in Lucas Giolito ( a 2019 All-Star), Dylan Cease (now in the starting five), stud Michael Kopech (returning in 2020 from Tommy John), and Carlos Rodon (also on the comeback trail from Tommy John).

Expectations are high that the Sox will be AL contenders in the near term. The first game of the doubleheader I attended last Tuesday showed that the Astros though are primed for this year, as they took advantage of Zach Greinke’s quality start and several Sox miscues in a 6-2 win. In the night cap, Ivan Nova, the veteran Sox righthander who has rebounded from a dismal first half, threw a complete game 4-1 win over the Astros for the split. It’s refreshing every once in a while to witness a complete game! In the rubber game the next afternoon, the Sox outslugged the Astros 13-9, not only winning the 3-game series but the season series as well. Maybe GRF will be hosting some more meaningful games (can you say AL playoffs) between the two teams in a future season.

It’s difficult to discuss the South Side Sox without mentioning the rivalry with their North Side counterparts, the Cubs. That rivalry started in 1906, the only World Series played between the two teams, with the White Sox, buoyed by their exceptional pitching, upsetting the Cubs (who had a record of 116-38 in the NL) in six games. Beginning in 1997, it’s now an annual interleague battle, the “Crosstown Classic”, which the Sox now lead 42-40. The teams share a lot in common. In Chicago you can get to Wrigley on that same “L” Red Line I took to GRF. Currently, WGN and NBC Sports Chicago share television rights to the two teams. That of course changes next year when the Cubs go to the 24/7 Marquee Network. And yes, both teams have broken the curses measuring decades of not winning world championships.

You often hear the question in Chicago, are you a Cubs or Sox fan? While there is a definite, but sometimes murky, geographical distinction (North Side vs. South Side), often the explanation offered by Chicago baseball fans turns to how they were raised. Is it ever possible to root for both teams? There is always room for more baseball passion, especially when today’s teams could meet someday soon in another classic, not seen since 1906.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach