Why White Sox expect to build off this season's success
The season always ends.
For the White Sox, it's usually with a thud. This is a team that's been around for 120 years and has won one World Series since 1918.
That was back in 2005, a year becoming more and more distant in the rearview mirror.
After that glorious season championed by the likes of Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, Jermaine Dye, Jose Contreras and A.J. Pierzynski, the Sox fell back on tough times.
There was a playoff appearance in 2008 followed by a bumpy 11 seasons, which featured a full-blown rebuild after 2016 and a 100-loss season two years later.
Moving to the present, the White Sox looked like one of the better teams in baseball while rolling through a 22-5 stretch heading into the final 10 games of the season.
They stumbled down the stretch, but looked to be in very good shape after taking Game 1 from the Athletics in the first round of the playoffs.
Pitching issues caught up to the Sox in the final two games, and so did an absence of clutch hitting. While losing two of three at Oakland and being eliminated from the postseason, the White Sox batted .143 (4-for-28) with runners in scoring position and stranded 27 on the bases.
It was a disappointing finish to a season that finally had some realistic hopes, but the future remains bright.
"I think it's a huge step," manager Rick Renteria said. "I think the experience is going to bode well for them. Now going into the postseason, this will play a huge part in their development. The organization is moving in the right direction. There's no way of not saying that that's happening. The Chicago White Sox are moving in the right direction."
Renteria always sees the bright side, but it's hard to dismiss his optimism.
MVP favorite Jose Abreu, shortstop Tim Anderson and ace starter Lucas Giolito head a returning group of veterans that also includes Eloy Jimenez, Yasmani Grandal, Dallas Keuchel and Yoan Moncada.
Rebuilding the farm system was a wise priority for general manager Rick Hahn after the 2016 season, and it paid off big this year.
Luis Robert, Nick Madrigal and Garrett Crochet were three of the 12 players that made their major-league debuts with the Sox in 2020, so there is an ideal blend of experience and youth moving into next season.
"The young talent has kind of come to fruition," Keuchel said. "Ultimately, that's what you need to see in a rebuilding phase of an organization. A lot of teams can try to rebuild, but if you don't have guys stick that you need to stick, you're just pushing yourself backwards.
"For the most part, a lot of guys who finally had a taste last year, made that initial jump, have progressed even better. For them to do that, 25 years of age, younger, maybe on the cusp of 25, 26 like Giolito is, it's very promising."
The White Sox were widely viewed as a team on the rise heading into the short season, and they lived up to that billing with a 35-25 record and first playoff appearance in 12 years.
Just getting to the postseason won't cut it next year, when the expectations will be higher. So will the pressure to perform in the playoffs, beginning with Renteria and moving down the roster.
"We can't change the results of what just happened so the only thing is we've got to look forward, continue to get better, come with that same mindset next year," said Anderson, who was 9-for-14 against the A's in the playoffs. "Hopefully things can turn in our favor and we continue to grow as a team, continue to get better. That's the exciting thing about it.
"I don't really think too many people expected us to get this far, so it says a lot about our lineup and our pitching staff. We've just got to continue to keep going and continue to get better and come with the same mindset. I think we're going to be a lot hungrier next year."