Gonzales: Sox know there's no place like home when it comes to the playoffs
The White Sox haven't hosted a playoff game since Jake Hahn was 5 years old, and Hall of Fame slugger Jim Thome knows the importance of home-field advantage to players and fans.
"With what's at stake for our players, they have a lot to play for," Thome said Wednesday. "Our club has put us in a good position to hopefully get there."
Thome, now a special assistant with the Sox, hit a 460-foot game-winning home run against the Minnesota Twins in a tiebreaker game that decided the 2008 American League Central title and pushed the Sox into the playoffs.
The Twins were furious that home-field advantage for the tiebreaker was determined by a coin flip - called correctly by the now 18-year-old Hahn, son of current Sox GM Rick Hahn, especially since they won the regular season series from the Sox 10-9.
The coin flip method was quickly scratched. Hence, there is some urgency for the Sox to surpass the Houston Astros, who won the regular season 5-2 and would host the first two games in a best-of-five series. Game 5, if necessary, also would be played at Minute Maid Park, where the Sox were swept in a four-game series in June.
Several Sox loyalists would prefer a re-enactment of the "Blackout Game" - in which a delirious sellout crowd dressed in black attire - witnessed Thome's homer that remains one of the greatest home games in the 31-year history of the ballpark.
With the healthy returns of shortstop Tim Anderson and core of their rotation - Lance Lynn, Carlos Rodon and Lucas Giolito - the opportunity to overtake the Astros for home-field advantage in the American League Division Series has become more enticing.
"We had a meeting and hit on that (Wednesday), and that's definitely a main goal for us now, to get this magic number down, and then getting home-field advantage and carrying that to the playoffs," reliever Garrett Crochet said.
"We know what that means for us, but we're not afraid where we're asked to go."
There are enough reminders for the Sox to push hard down the stretch. First, the Sox have the league's best home record (49-26 entering play Thursday), and their fans would be delighted to witness their first home playoff games in 13 seasons.
Second, some Sox believed if they could weather their recent bout of injuries, the odds might be in their favor to overcome a two-game deficit to the Astros, who finish the regular season with nine games against the Oakland A's and Tampa Bay Rays (who possess the league's best record and likely will have home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs).
Finally, the Sox recall missing a chance to open the 2020 playoffs at home (albeit in front of a limited crowd because of COVID) because they lost seven of their final eight regular season games and opened their first-round series at Oakland, where they dropped two of three and were eliminated.
"Home-field advantage that we have here is something," reliever Evan Marshall said. "We play well here, our fans are loud and crazy, and we want other teams to be uncomfortable coming in here to have to play the White Sox."
The "Blackout Game" etched a special spot in Thome's heart, and not just because he provided the only offense.
"When we came out to warm up, when you saw the whole ballpark in all black," Thome recalled. "That was a vibe that our fans sent us early on.
"From the get-go, the vibe we felt as players was that we felt our crowd instantly set this aura (of invincibility) that rubbed off on us."
Managers Tony La Russa of the Sox and Joe Maddon of the Angels tempered some of the importance of home-field advantage. Both managers have lost playoff series despite their teams holding home-field advantage.
"If you have a strong home record, then it would make sense," La Russa said Thursday morning.
Maddon believes it's more important to secure a playoff berth early to properly align the rotation. But he did recall the electric atmosphere for Game 3 of the 2008 ALDS in Chicago, where the Sox won their last playoff game behind the pitching of Danks.
"This place was black," Maddon recalled. "It couldn't have been more emotionally charged."
@MDGonzales