The Chicago White Sox may have won five of their last six games, but it was all too little, too late.
The 2024 White Sox officially set a new record for Major League Baseball futility Friday in their 4-1 loss to Detroit, which became their 121st loss of the season.
So how has a team — that only three years ago won the American League’s central division title — fallen so far so fast?
In the Q&A below, LaMond Pope, White Sox reporter for the Chicago Tribune, helps explain how it all went so wrong.
WTTW News: Expectations weren’t high after the team lost 101 games in 2023, but this wasn’t just a bad season, it was historically bad. What were the factors that created this embarrassment for the organization and the fans?
LaMond Pope: They started off the year 3-22. And part of that was because their three star players — Eloy Jiménez, Luis Robert Jr. and Yoán Moncada — they each got injured in early April. They were really important parts of that offense. And so when those three guys went out, everyone else on the offensive side just started struggling and trying to do too much to kind of compensate.
As the White Sox reporter for the Chicago Tribune, what’s it been like this season as you’ve watched this historic mediocrity unfold?
Pope: It’s been unlike anything I’ve ever imagined. We entered the season knowing that it was going to be a challenging year for the White Sox (after losing 101 games in 2023). They’ve blown a lot of saves. They’ve been in a lot of games, but they usually find a way to lose.
What’s the morale like in the clubhouse?
Pope: No one wants to be attached to a record like this, and the fact that as we got closer and closer (to the record) there became more national media attention — the New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN, everyone dropped a ‘What’s wrong with the White Sox?’ type story — so the fact that the group was still able to kind of stay together through all that, I thought that that was one of the strong points. It’s something that they never want to go through again. And so I hope that the group all together was able to learn something from it.
It was only three years ago when they won the AL Central. How did it all go so wrong?
Pope: It has been a stunning freefall to go from 2020 making the playoffs and in 2021 winning the division. It all just sort of snowballed as the season progressed. They were in all these tight games night in and night out, and it was just one mistake here and there that would cost the team. They had 71 losses, which were the most in Major League Baseball history, before the All-Star break. And then they came out of the break, and they lost 17 in a row. That was part of their American League record-tying 21-game losing streak. And in that stretch, they were just making defensive mistakes. It just seemed like they were throwing the ball at the wrong base.
Are some of these players simply not good enough or is it a question of giving them time to develop? How would you assess the level of talent in the squad?
Pope: Well, you take a look at the pitching, Garrett Crochet, their one All Star, had a phenomenal season, but he was someone who was mentioned in trade speculation all year long so who knows if Garrett’s going to be here come next year. There’s some young guys that have got an opportunity — Drew Thorpe, Sean Burke, Jonathan Cannon — they showed some promise, and so they’re going get that opportunity again next year to kind of see if they can take that next step. The bullpen is going to be a work in progress. There’s a lot of moving pieces with that. So they have to figure out the bullpen. And then the offense, that’s the big thing. They finished last in so many categories throughout the major leagues.
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf wrote in a letter to fans that he accepts the ultimate responsibility for the team’s failings, but a lot of the reporting on the Sox says that he has been a large part of the problem. Can he turn things around, and is that criticism fair?
Pope: I think the criticism is fair. I think the big thing is words can only get you so far. So what are you going to do? Is it going to be diving into the analytics? Is it going to be diving into international scouting? What are going to be the steps that you take as far as getting this ball club going in the right direction? But the first thing is trying to figure out who the next manager is going to be. A hot name is Skip Schumaker, who has just parted ways with the Miami Marlins, but he’s going to be well sought after. Grady Sizemore, who stepped in as the interim manager after Pedro Grifol (was fired), the wins weren’t showing up, but he had the team playing energetically. The guys in the clubhouse had a lot of respect for him. And so he’s someone under consideration, but it will be really interesting to see what direction the ball club goes in.
