Nobody had this team in October. The 2026 White Sox were coming off 60–102, two years removed from a record 121-loss season, and the books set their win total at 67.5. They won 84, finished one game behind Cleveland in the AL Central, swept Houston for the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2005, and took Cleveland to a fifth and final game. Here’s how the season that wasn’t supposed to happen actually happened, checked against the box scores.
The short version
- Record: 84–78, second in the AL Central, one game behind Cleveland (85–77). Manager: Will Venable.
- Expectations: BetMGM’s preseason win total was 67.5. PECOTA projected 69 wins, FanGraphs 68.6. They beat the line by 16½ games.
- History: Per MLB.com, the first team ever to reach the postseason after back-to-back 100-loss seasons. First playoff berth since 2021.
- Postseason: Swept Houston in the Wild Card Series (6–3, 7–3). Won ALDS Games 1 and 2 at Cleveland, then lost the next three. Season ended Oct. 10 with a 2–0 loss in Game 5.
From 121 losses to the playoffs
Two years ago the Sox lost 121 games, a modern-era record. Last year they lost 102. Venable’s second team flipped the script with an offense that led the American League in runs (776) and walks (589) and ranked third in home runs (211). They clinched on Sept. 24 with a 9–1 rout in Kansas City, three games to spare, behind six strong innings from David Sandlin.
They did it without one long hot streak. Per MLB.com, they never won more than five straight, and they never lost more than four in a row. What they had instead was late-game nerve: 11 walk-off wins and 35 come-from-behind wins by the time they clinched.
The bats: three 30-homer guys
For the first time in years, the South Side had real thump up and down the order.
- Munetaka Murakami led the team with 35 home runs as a rookie, made the All-Star team (the first Sox rookie All-Star since José Abreu in 2014), and swung in the Home Run Derby. He did it despite a hamstring strain that cost him time starting May 29.
- Miguel Vargas was the engine: 33 homers, a team-high 93 RBI, a team-high 22 steals, and a team-best .837 OPS among qualified hitters. He was voted an All-Star by the players, the first Sox third baseman to make it since Joe Crede in 2008.
- Colson Montgomery added 31 home runs and 87 RBI.
- Andrew Benintendi drove in 78. Sam Antonacci (.277) and Chase Meidroth (.276) gave the lineup its on-base guys at the top.
- Tristan Peters hit for the cycle on July 10 and made the All-Star team too, giving the Sox three All-Stars.
The arms
- Sean Burke was the ace: 11–7, a 3.34 ERA over 172⅓ innings, and 185 strikeouts, leading the staff in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
- Seranthony Domínguez led the club with 12 saves before he was dealt at the deadline. Grant Taylor picked up 10 saves with a 2.25 ERA.
- At the trade deadline, with the Sox leading the Central, they went for it, adding Luis Castillo from Seattle, plus Huascar Brazobán, Brenton Doyle and Joey Bart.
October: the sweep, then the heartbreak
Wild Card Series at Houston: Sox win 2–0
- Game 1, Sept. 29: Sox 6, Astros 3. Colson Montgomery crushed a 432-foot solo shot.
- Game 2, Sept. 30: Sox 7, Astros 3. Chase Meidroth’s three-run homer in the sixth put it away. It was the franchise’s first playoff series win since the 2005 title run.
ALDS vs. Cleveland: Guardians win 3–2
- Game 1, Oct. 3 at Cleveland: Sox 3, Guardians 0. Murakami’s two-run, 440-foot homer, and five pitchers combined on a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
- Game 2, Oct. 5 at Cleveland: Sox 4, Guardians 3. Braden Montgomery’s two-run double in the sixth, and Burke allowed one hit over 5⅓ innings.
- Game 3, Oct. 7 at Rate Field: Guardians 9, Sox 3.
- Game 4, Oct. 8 at Rate Field: Guardians 9, Sox 5, in front of 39,920. Vargas homered leading off the ninth.
- Game 5, Oct. 10 at Cleveland: Guardians 2, Sox 0. José Ramírez’s two-run homer in the fourth was all Cleveland needed, and Gavin Williams struck out 12.
Cleveland’s arms were the difference in the last three games. The Sox struck out 75 times in the series, an LDS record.
What it means
A year ago, the Sox were a 102-loss team. This October, 39,920 people packed Rate Field for a playoff game. The core is young — Murakami, Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Antonacci, Meidroth and Burke — and it has now been through a pennant race and a five-game playoff series together. The season ended a step short of the ALCS. Nobody expected it to get that far.
Thank you, South Side. See you at 35th and Shields in the spring.
Sources: Baseball-Reference (2026 White Sox), MLB.com, Chicago Sun-Times, BetMGM, MLB.com (All-Stars).