Houston has a way of bringing the White Sox face to face with October history. On Oct. 26, 2005, Juan Uribe handled Orlando Palmeiro’s slow grounder up the middle and threw to Paul Konerko for the final out at the ballpark now called Daikin Park. Bobby Jenks earned the save, Chicago won 1-0, and the White Sox completed a four-game World Series sweep of the Astros.
That night remains more than a championship memory as the White Sox return to Houston for Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Series opener. It was the last time the franchise won a postseason series. Nearly 21 years have passed since Uribe’s throw settled the matter, a span long enough that much of this Chicago roster was barely old enough to remember the celebration.
Outfielder Sam Antonacci said he was three years old in 2005 and could not say what he might have been doing then. Tristan Peters, another member of the outfield group, put his own age at six.
The White Sox have had only scattered October appearances since that title run. They won 90 games in 2006 but missed the playoffs, then lost 90 the following season. In 2008, they forced their way back into the field by beating Minnesota in the memorable AL Central tiebreaker known as the Blackout Game, Game 163. Their Division Series ended with a four-game loss to Tampa Bay, and they entered that matchup without Carlos Quentin, whose broken right wrist in early September had removed a legitimate AL MVP candidate from the lineup.
Chicago did not return to postseason play until the shortened 2020 season, when Oakland took the series in three games. A year later, the Astros eliminated the White Sox in four Division Series games, their most recent playoff appearance. There have been lingering what-ifs around each trip: Quentin’s absence in 2008, a final-day loss to a Cubs club resting many regulars in 2020 that cost Chicago the No. 2 seed and home field, and the chance to finish ahead of Houston in 2021 for the same advantage.
Nothing but the next pitch
This year’s route carried its own frustrations. Cleveland closed the regular season with a 24-11 surge, while the White Sox went 12-13 in September. The Guardians finished one game ahead in the AL Central, leaving Chicago with five days between its final regular-season game and Saturday.
None of that baggage appears to be weighing on the current club. The White Sox went 2-5 against Houston this season, including a 1-3 record at Daikin Park, but their players have not treated those results as a forecast for the series ahead.
Antonacci described the team’s approach as living in the immediate assignment: handle the opener, then turn to the next game, inning and pitch. He said the group is centered on the present rather than old championships or expectations that one playoff berth must launch a longer run. After briefly searching for last year’s World Series winner, he remembered the Dodgers and noted that even a title fades quickly once a new season begins. Los Angeles is now preparing to chase a third straight championship.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz said this club has competed throughout the season and has earned its chance in October. He called the group one of the most fearless he has been around and said the task is simply to get the postseason started and see how far it can go.
Game 1 is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. CT, with NBC, Peacock and NBCSN carrying the opener. For the White Sox, the first order of business is clear: win in Houston and create an opportunity to bring postseason baseball back to Rate Field.
Chicago has not hosted a playoff series victory since October 2005, when Journey’s Steve Perry joined the celebration in the White Sox clubhouse. This younger club is not carrying that memory with it. Still, the old refrain fits a team trying to write its own October: don’t stop believing.
