Chicago White Sox championship history #postseason #worldseries

I waited until the end of the Cubs/Indians world series to post this. Before the Cubs won last night, the White Sox brought a world series victory to Chicago. It seemed to have been forgotten during the excitement over the Cubs.

Unfortunately I never worked on such a post when the Sox advanced to the World Series and then ultimately swept the Houston Astros. Over the years I did one for both the Bears and Black Hawks when they advanced to their respective World Championship rounds. So this post is really 11 years in the making.

Now with the success of the Cubs not only winning their first pennant in 71 years, but winning their first world series in 108 years. It's time to revisit the Sox who missed the playoffs this year and changed managers. Ironically the new manager is Rick Renteria who managed the Cubs in 2014 the season before Joe Maddon took the reins at Wrigley.

As a charter member of the American League which started in 1901, the Sox also won their first pennant that year. The world series as we know it began in 1903. Thus the Sox also won World Series titles in 1906, 1917, and of course 2005. In addition to 1901 they also won pennants in 1906, 1917, 1919, 1959, and of course 2005.

As a side note in 1906, the Sox faced off against the Cubs in the World Series. The only year both teams faced off against each other in a crosstown world series. And the White Sox claimed their first world series victory in this series.

Also the 1919 White Sox team was the subject of the film Eight Men Out. That movie was basically a dramatization of the Black Sox Scandal which took place during the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnatti Reds. Needless to say eight Sox players were banned for life from baseball after an investigation.

In 1969, Major League Baseball had been realigned where each league had been broken up into two divisions. Each division winner would play in an League Championship Series to determine who will play in the World Series.

By 1995, the major leagues would also be re-aligned again with three divisions per league and an extra round in the baseball postseason - League Division Series. Three division winners or those who clinched division titles with a wild card team with that round determining who advances to the ALCS (or conversely NLCS). In 2012 MLB created another round a one-game playoff between two wild card teams where one will advance to the ALDS (or NLDS).

Since 1969, the White Sox have won division titles in 1983, 1993, 2000, 2005, and 2008. The Sox as of yet have never clinched a wild card berth in the baseball postseason.

Also since we broached the subject of a crosstown series between Cubs and Sox. In 2003 the Cubs and Sox were close to both securing a berth in the postseason, unfortunately the south siders fell out of contention. The Cubs would enjoy a memorable run in 2003 even if they fell short.

In 2008, however, both teams were in the postseason winning their central division in their respective leagues. Unfortunately both teams were eliminated after their respective league division series.

The period between White Sox world series titles had been 88 years between 1917 and 2005. Between world series appearances had been 46 years between 1959 and 2005. Not nearly as long of a drought as the Cubs, however, the Sox were the first to bring a major league world series title back to Chicago.

Visiting Comiskey Park Wednesday

On Thursday Wednesday I went to a Chicago White Sox game. I had some connections and found myself in the club level of Comiskey Park (aka US Cellular Field).

Incidentally my first trip to a MLB ballpark was when I was a child. Unfortunately I had no idea what was going on at either Wrigley Field or the old Comiskey Park which was razed in the early 1990s when the Sox moved to their current digs.

So, it was a great experience to watch a live MLB game with the Sox taking on the Texas Rangers. I had cut out after the 8th inning unfortunately and this game proved to be a losing effort with a final score of 3-1 in favor of the Rangers.

Both teams seemed to have been good on defense which often takes fielding as much a pitching. Alas defense is nothing without scoring some runs. The Sox managed one home run but not much offense to get past the Rangers.

The food items were good. A nacho supreme and a bacon cheeseburger - which seemed a bit undercooked but yet I ate it. All the same the food items get a thumbs up especially for one of the few times I was a professional sport live at the arena!

Sooner or later I need to find my way back to Wrigleyville. I also dream and talk about it but somehow unable to make it happen. Perhaps it's all hot air, but it's something that needs to happen in the future.

When it does a pic is going to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and another blog post here!

Wrigley Field Fans Boo Beleaguered BP

Today when sports fans in Chicago have a great reason to celebrate there are a segment of sports fans who find something negative!

Chicago - Fans at Wrigley Field let out loud boos when the BP Crosstown Cup was presented Friday afternoon before the Chicago Cubs game against the White Sox.

BP, which is under fire for its handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, just became a sponsor of the traditional Crosstown Classic series between the Cubs and Sox.

Fans say when the cup came out before the game people started yelling and booing.

The cup goes to the winner of the crosstown series or the team that wins the final game if there's a split out of the six games played.

Both teams sent out press releases Friday saying they plan to stay with BP as the sponsor but promotions during the games have been scaled back.

You know I haven't exactly been following this disaster, but from what I do know my finger isn't only pointed at BP. My finger is pointed at our government! BP isn't the only one we should be booing!

Swept into next century

DAMN!!! I heard about this last night. Felt this disappointment even more as well. Well this has been brewing for the last two games. And there's always next year I suppose but it could have been this year!

Sun-Times:

It’s got to be the curses.

Not goats and black cats.

Just curses. Four-letter curses. Four-letter baseball.

That’s what this 100-year anniversary postseason looked like for the Cubs — from all those walks in Game 1, to all those errors in Game 2, to all those zeroes Saturday night in Game 3, until it was too late in a 3-1 elimination loss at Dodger Stadium.

They won’t admit that the drought or the so-called curse or anything else extraneous got in their heads or in their way of playing the game.

‘‘I don’t think it has anything to do with the 100-year thing,’’ manager Lou Piniella said after the game. ‘‘I think it has to do with the fact that this team in postseason doesn’t generate enough offense to win games.’’ But there’s no denying that these World Series-favored Cubs didn’t even get down to actually competing head-on in talent-vs.-talent baseball until sometime after the first inning Saturday night.

And by then it was too late.

The butterfly walks and anxious errors in the first two games put them in a hole they had little chance to escape. By the time it struck midnight back home, their magic season was a three-and-out pumpkin.

"We just didn't hit, you have to score runs," Piniella said. "We had opportunities and you have to take advantage of them. This is six games I've managed now in the postseason and we have scored just 12 runs. That doesn't get it done." Alfonso Soriano was one of the culprits in the offensive drought.

"We have the best team in the league, and we struggle in the playoffs," Soriano said. "We did not play good, like a team. That's the reason we didn't win."

I'm sure there are plenty of Cubs fans who are a little upset right now that the Cubs didn't play well and they take an early exit from the playoffs this year. Unfortunately we have next year to fall back on!

So how about those White Sox? Well they'll play today at the Cell with a 2-0 deficit against Tampa Bay in their ALDS.

White Sox wins the AL Central

Both the Cubs and the White Sox are in the playoffs. This will make watching the baseball postseason even more interesting with two Chicago teams going for that World Series.

It should also be noted that LA has two hometown teams in the playoffs. Both the Anaheim Angels and the LA Dodgers. I wonder how out of sorts LA baseball fans are at the moment.

Tribune:

There's nothing like defending your home turf on a playoff-type stage.

Just ask John Danks, Jim Thome and A.J. Pierzynski, who each stood tall and strong in vaulting the White Sox to the American League Central title Tuesday night with a 1-0 victory in the division tiebreaker.

The Sox advanced to the postseason for the second time in four seasons and will play AL East champion Tampa Bay in an AL Division Series starting Thursday at Tropicana Field.

Danks redeemed himself for a 7.91 ERA against the Twins in four regular-season starts in heroic form. Danks pitched eight innings of two-hit ball on three days' rest.

Thome accounted for the Sox offense with a home run off Nick Blackburn to lead off the seventh.

Pierzynski, who began his career with Minnesota, prevented the Twins from scoring by blocking home plate to stop a run in the fifth inning.

Hmm I wish I had a similar image for the Cubs' Division win. Anyway let's see how Chicago's baseball teams will do in these playoffs.

Downtown rally to be held today for Cubs

Oh man I can't wait to see future coverage of this. May this year's playoffs be a good one. Tribune:

A noontime rally will be held today for the Cubs at Daley Plaza in advance of the team's first playoff game Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Baseball Hall of Famer Billy Williams, WGN Radio's Ron Santo, Mayor Richard Daley, Gov. Rod Blagojevich and actor Jim Belushi are expected to be among the attending luminaries. Belushi will emcee.

The event is free and open to the public, and will run from noon to 12:45 p.m.

Of course it should be noted that the White Sox could find themselves in the playoffs as well. This is pending their one game playoff against the Minnesota Twins. The Sox struggled late in the season and couldn't hold their lead in the AL Central. And neither could the Twins apparently.

White Sox knocked out of first place

This'll be 2003 all over again. Both teams had the chance to make it to the playoffs, but stumble. Well hopefully it's just that aspect. Take it away Tailgate:

But under the pressure of maintaining a hold on first place in the AL Central with the eyes of the nation watching, the White Sox collapsed harder than WaMu, with Thursday's 10-inning 7-6 loss the bitterest pill to swallow. It left them in second place, a half-game behind, and may force them to spend an entire winter wondering how they blew a 6-1 lead.

Unfortunate. I really would like to see a cross-town world series if it was meant to be. At least I can say the Cubs still have their Division title this year. And I look forward to their playoffs run.