White Sox playoff fans back in a big way
It felt like old times on the South Side of Chicago Sunday night.
The White Sox played a postseason home game, their first in 13 years.
Guaranteed Rate Field was packed and fans were wearing black, just like in 2008 when the Sox beat the Twins in the division tiebreaker before playing two home playoff games against Tampa Bay.
And Jim Thome, who hit a solo home run to lift the White Sox into the postseason in '08, threw the ceremonial first pitch.
Losing the first two games of the American League division series dampened some of the enthusiasm, but Sox fans were plenty loud and obviously excited to be watching playoff baseball again in Game 3.
"Man, they've been great," shortstop Tim Anderson said. "Showing up from Day 1. They know the tough stretch that we have been through, you know, since I got here. For them to just continue to show up day in, day out, it definitely means a lot to this ballclub.
"They've got a special place in my heart, for sure."
Not impressed:
Tim Anderson entered Game 3 Sunday night with 13 hits in his first five career playoff games, the most in major league history.
"I don't get a ring for that, so it doesn't really do anything for me," he said.
Backing Dusty:
Already in the Hall of Fame himself, White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Astros counterpart Dusty Baker also deserves to be in Cooperstown after he retires.
Baker is the only manager in MLB history to win division titles with five different teams - the Astros, Nationals, Reds, Cubs and Giants.
"I think he has the (HOF) credentials already," La Russa said. "I'm a Hall of Famer, so I guess I've got some credibility. Maybe they don't all agree, but I think a lifetime of success with the number of wins he has and the championships he has, I think he has the credentials already.
"And I also think that just like with Joe Torre, you can't discount the kind of playing career he had and the fact that he stayed in and continues to coach and any team he coaches for, players love playing for him Sounds like a Hall of Famer to me."
La Russa is second all-time with 2,821 career wins. Baker is 12th at 1,987.