Among the 25 World Series champions since 2000, how did the 2005 White Sox land in this spot?
The squad don’t get the respect they deserve, in part because of their being a one-and-done act. The 2005 club made the postseason, the first time the White Sox had earned a berth since 2000, which was itself the first time since 1993. And that had been the first time since an entire decade before, which was Chicago’s first appearance since 1959, when they lost the World Series. The White Sox don’t make the postseason often, is the thing, and never have: the World Series was an even more significant rarity. The 2005 World Series, though, was an even longer championship-less streak than 2004’s vaunted Red Sox, as Chicago was in the 1917 Fall Classic and won, and did not do so again until this 2005 squad.
Unlike Boston’s win, which featured stars in the lineup — David Ortiz! Manny Ramirez! Johnny Damon! — and in the rotation — Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez — the White Sox were, comparatively, just some guys. This isn’t meant to be dismissive, either, but to give you insight into why one is looked back upon as this magical thing full of memories, and the other is, comparatively, forgotten about. The 2005 White Sox did not have another championship win a few years later: they were just the 2005 White Sox.
In that one year, though, that was more than enough. Paul Konerko slugged 40 home runs and posted a high on-base percentage in a season he would only exceed in quality once in his 18-year career. Aaron Rowand wasn’t much of a hitter, but he could defend like no one else in center, and A.J. Pierzynski similarly hit enough for a catcher while also handling the pitching staff exceptionally well. Jermaine Dye wasn’t much of a defender and Frank Thomas spent time at DH (until his season ended early with a foot fracture) but both brought the offense. Tadahito Iguchi and Juan Uribe split the difference a bit, while Scott Podsednik stole 59 bases to help make up for his lack of power, and he also reached base at a 35% clip, too. The offense wasn’t good, no, but it had enough going for it to get by, especially with a defense designed to make its pitchers into out machines.
All four of Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras threw between 204 and 236 innings, with Buehrle leading the league while Garland and Garcia both got over the 220 mark. None of them were strikeout pitchers, but they all put the ball in play, with regularity, in places and ways that the strong defense behind them could get to it. They were a very different squad than 2004’s Red Sox, but nearly as impressive: they won 99 games, and swept the sequel to that Boston team en route to the World Series, too. While Podsednik wasn’t much of a hitter in-season, in October, he hit .286/.397/.551 with 2 homers — his only two of the year. Like with the team as a whole, the timing was just right.
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