Reliving the 2005 White Sox World Series run

Record: 99-63

Postseason: 11-1

Awards won: Ozzie Guillen AL manager of the year; Jermaine Dye World Series MVP.

Getting started: It was a busy offseason for the Sox, signing Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Tadahito Iguchi and Dustin Hermanson as free agents; while trading for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. This was Ozzie Guillen's second season as manager after going 83-79 in 2004. Four-time all-star Magglio Ordonez left as a free agent, signing with Detroit.

Opening eyes: The season began on the South Side, appropriately enough, with Mark Buehrle pitching 8 innings in a 1-0 victory over Cleveland, a game that lasted 1:51.

Second signal: On Day 2, the Sox used a 4-run rally in the bottom of the ninth to beat Cleveland 4-3. Back-to-back homers by Paul Konerko and Dye tied it, then Aaron Rowand doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Sox would never leave first place all season.

Revenge for '59: Another memorable 4-run, ninth-inning rally happened on June 18 against the Dodgers as Pierzynski hit a walk-off 2-run homer to win it 5-3.

Midsummer classic: Buehrle was the American League starter in the All-Star Game at Detroit, joined by Jon Garland, Konerko and Podsednik. The AL took a 7-0 lead and hung on to win 7-5, which would be meaningful later on, since that was the era when the all-star result determined home field in the World Series.

Big goodbye: Sox legend Frank Thomas generally isn't associated with the 2005 squad, but he did play in 34 games before an injury ended his season. His final game for the White Sox was July 20, a home game against Detroit. Thomas threw out the first pitch at the playoff opener against Boston.

Pulling away: On Aug. 1, the White Sox' lead in the AL Central peaked at 15 games over Cleveland, but the Sox cooled off and went just 12-16 in August.

Late threat: Cleveland got as close as 1½ games on Sept. 22 and 23. A huge game for the Sox was on Sept. 20, a 7-6 win that prevented an Indians sweep in Chicago. The Sox trailed 5-3 in the seventh, answered with 3 runs and won it in the 10th on a Crede home run.

Central clincher: The Sox went 8-2 over the final 10 games to pull away. With a season-ending series in Cleveland looming, they clinched on Sept. 29 with a 4-2 win at Detroit, a game that featured Konerko's 40th home run.

AL wild card vs. Boston, Sox sweep series 3-0

Sox 14, Boston 2: The Sox set the tone for the postseason with 5 runs in the first inning, capped by a 3-run homer from Pierzynski against former Cubs pitcher Matt Clement.

Sox 5, Boston 4: The Carmines led this one 4-0 until a 5-run rally by the Pale Hose in the fifth, which ended with a 3-run homer by Iguchi.

Sox 5, Boston 3: Konerko's 2-run homer in the sixth made it 4-2, but this game will be remembered for the 3 scoreless innings of relief by El Duque. Bobby Jenks pitched the ninth to clinch the series win at Fenway Park.

ALCS vs. LA Angels, Sox win pennant 4-1:

Angels 3, Sox 2: The only postseason loss happened when the Sox couldn't muster much offense against Paul Byrd and two Anaheim relievers. All the runs were scored in the first four innings.

Sox 2, Angels 1: This one will always be remembered for Pierzynski's illogical dash to first base after striking out on a low pitch to apparently end the ninth inning in a 1-1 tie. Did the pitch from Kelvim Escobar hit the dirt? Probably not, but Crede followed with an RBI double to score pinch-runner Pablo Ozuna with the game-winner.

Sox 5, Angels 2: Konerko hit a 2-run homer in the first inning off John Lackey and the Sox cruised behind a complete game from SoCal native Jon Garland.

Sox 8, Angels 2: Konerko delivered another first-inning, 2-run homer and the Sox rolled behind a complete game by Freddy Garcia.

Sox 6, Angels 3: Another night in Anaheim, another complete game on the mound, this time by Jose Contreras. The Sox trailed this one 3-2 at the end of six and took the lead in the eighth on an RBI single by Crede against Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez.

World Series vs. Houston; Sox sweep, 4-0:

Sox 5, Houston 3: To open the first World Series game in Chicago in 46 years, the Sox scored 3 runs in two innings against Roger Clemens, then took the lead for good with a Crede homer in the fourth.

Sox 7, Houston 6: Everyone remembers the Konerko grand slam that gave the Sox a 6-4 lead in the seventh. But the Astros tied it with 2 runs in the ninth, setting the stage for Podsednik's walk-off homer against Brad Lidge in the bottom of the inning.

Sox 7, Houston 5: Back home at Minute Maid Park, the Astros took a 4-0 lead, which the Sox erased with a 5-run fifth. Then Geoff Blum, who played just 31 games for the Sox after arriving in a trade from San Diego, belted a go-ahead home run in the 14th inning. Blum got just 2 postseason at-bats, but delivered one of the biggest hits in franchise history.

Sox 1, Houston 0: The season ended the way it started, this time with Garcia tossing 7 scoreless innings. Dye's RBI single in the eighth scored Willie Harris with the game's only run and Jenks shook off a leadoff single in the ninth to complete the save.