Chris Getz’s White Sox have exceeded expectations all season. After sweeping Houston, they enter the ALDS confident they can beat the division-rival Guardians.
After losing at least 100 games in three consecutive seasons, even the most optimistic Chicago White Sox fans couldn't have expected this team to make the playoffs and win the franchise's first postseason series since 2005.
Even Chris Getz, the general manager who assembled the roster, has been surprised by how far it's come.
“They continue to surprise me,” Getz said after the White Sox defeated the Houston Astros on Wednesday to advance to the ALDS.
That's probably the best way to describe this White Sox season. Every time there's been a reason to temper expectations, the players have given us another reason to raise them.
At the beginning of the year, Getz was noncommittal about what he expected from the club. The front office's message centered on development more than the win-loss record. And who could blame them?
Chicago needed to establish a young core and build a culture that could sustain future success. After three straight seasons of historically bad baseball, simply becoming competitive would have represented progress.
But as the young players settled in and the White Sox started winning, it became clear that this team was ahead of schedule. The question was how aggressively the organization would respond.
The trade deadline offered some insight. Chicago held on to its top prospects and made targeted additions, but didn't take the kind of big swing that could have meaningfully strengthened its postseason rotation.
Outfielder Brenton Doyle has turned into a valuable addition, bringing speed, defense, and a bat that came alive in late September. Right-hander Luis Castillo has been a different story. His struggles made it difficult to justify giving him meaningful innings, and he was left off the Wild Card Series roster entirely.
There's a fair argument that the White Sox needed more urgency at the deadline. An unexpected opportunity to win is still an opportunity to win, and Chicago entered October with pitching questions that a more aggressive approach might have helped answer.
But the players haven't let those questions define their season.
They've heard the doubts. They've seen the odds. They know how little was expected of them. And while the front office was building toward the future, they were busy proving they could win in the present.
“It really doesn't matter what I think,” Getz said. “These guys believe in themselves, and therefore I'm here and I'll support them.”
That isn't an admission that Getz doesn't believe in his team. It's an acknowledgment that the players' belief has carried them well beyond anyone else's expectations.
They show up with an attitude. They trust one another. They do their jobs. And even when the roster doesn't look like a conventional postseason contender on paper, they keep finding ways to win.
Against Houston, that meant timely offense, an electric bullpen, and a manager in Will Venable who kept putting his players in positions to succeed. The White Sox didn't need to have every question answered before the series began. They needed the players they trusted to deliver.
They did. Now Chicago is three victories away from the ALCS.
And the more the White Sox win, the more you have to believe.
The next test comes against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians, a matchup Getz addressed with considerably less hesitation.
“We can beat Cleveland. We have proven we can,” Getz said.
He's right. The White Sox won the regular-season series 7-6, and there's a reasonable case that the matchup was more favorable to Chicago than that record suggests.
Cleveland walked off the White Sox three times, taking games in which Chicago had put itself in position to win. Those missed opportunities mattered in an AL Central race that ended with the Sox one game behind the Guardians.
But they also reinforce why this matchup should feel like an opportunity. The White Sox have competed with Cleveland all year. They've beaten the Guardians enough to know they belong on the same field, and I have little doubt the players in that clubhouse believe they're the better team.
That doesn't guarantee a series win. Cleveland has earned its place here, too. But the White Sox won't be walking into Progressive Field hoping they can keep up. They'll be walking in expecting to win.
The ALDS begins at noon Central Time on Saturday in Cleveland. The expectations that followed Chicago into this season no longer matter. Neither does the timetable anyone else had in mind.
These players believed they could win long before most of us did. They've earned the chance to see how far that belief can take them. And whether you're the White Sox GM or a fan sitting at home, they've given you every reason to believe along with them.
