The White Sox have turned a season few outside their own room believed possible into an October ticket. Chicago clinched a postseason berth Thursday, completing a startling climb after losing 121 games in 2024 and another 102 in 2025.
Key takeaways
- The White Sox secured a place in the 2026 postseason on Thursday.
- Chicago is coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons, including a Modern Era-record 121 defeats in 2024.
- Pope Leo XIV was asked Friday whether the club’s turnaround qualified as a miracle.
- The Pope declined to label it one, but said, “Great things happen in Chicago.”
- It remains unclear whether Pope Leo XIV will attend any White Sox playoff games.
A turnaround that reached the Vatican
The South Siders’ recovery has been hard to miss. A franchise that endured 121 losses two years ago, then 102 more last season, has now earned a spot on the postseason bracket. It is the kind of reversal that changes the mood around an entire clubhouse, from the veterans who lived through the losses to the newcomers who helped push the club back into contention.
That remarkable jump followed Pope Leo XIV onto the papal plane Friday, when a reporter asked whether Chicago’s 2026 campaign should be considered miraculous.
“No comment,” Pope Leo said with a smile. “Great things happen in Chicago.”
October returns to the South Side
White Sox supporters will happily take that as a blessing as the calendar turns toward October. The club has gone from surviving historically difficult seasons to preparing for meaningful postseason baseball, a payoff that once seemed well beyond the horizon.
There has been no indication yet that Pope Leo XIV plans to take in a White Sox playoff game. Still, he is familiar with October baseball, and the White Sox now have every reason to hope their unexpected season has a few more great moments left.
