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Besides 2021, Their last (non-covid) playoff appearance was in 2008, and last world series win in 2005, its safe to say the Chicago White Sox have built up a reputation as a consistently horrible team. With multiple top 10 prospects being added over the years such as 2nd place ranked prospect Yoan Moncada in 2017, 4th place Eloy Jimenez in 2018, and 3rd place Luis Robert Jr in 2019. Going into the covid – plagued 2020 season, Chicago White Sox fans thought it was finally their turn, their time to win with all the young talent they had built up. The 2020 season proved promising, given that they made the “playoffs” for the first time in 12 years.
This minor success in 2020 proved to be more than a one time fluke – The White Sox went 93 – 69 in 2021, earning them a first round bye and solidifying their spot in the 2021 ALDS. Sadly, they ended up losing to the insanely talented Houston Astros, who would go on to lose in the World Series to the Atlanta Braves. This series proved Chicago could be close to long-term success.
So, what followed their relatively successful 2021 season in 2022? Mediocrity. Perfectly .500 at 81-81, they missed the playoffs entirely. With this being said, their 2022 season could’ve been a LOT worse. The same cannot be said about their 2023 and current 2024 season. I’m not sure if it could be any worse. With that being said, I invite you all to take an analytical deep dive into the Chicago White Sox from 2021 to present, and put some numbers behind the facts.
2021 White Sox
As previously mentioned, the 2021 Sox were a good team. They went 93 – 69, sending them to the ALDS for the first time in over a decade. Above average in hitting and pitching, let’s take a look into what made this team so good.
The 2021 White Sox were a slightly above average team in terms of offensive production. Their team OPS comes out at around 106 (100 being average), and their two best hitters were Yasmani Grandal with a 155 OPS+. and Luis Robert Jr. with a 154 OPS+. There was also 1B Jose Abreu, who hit 30 HR and drove in 117 runs.
Lets see how the Chicago White Sox hold up against league average batting statistics
- 2021 League Average Batting Average: .244
- 2021 White Sox Batting Average: .256 (4th in the AL)
- 2021 League Average OBP (On base Percentage): .317
- 2021 White Sox OBP: .336 (2nd in the AL)
- 2021 League Average SLG (Slugging Percentage): .411
- 2021 White Sox SLG: .422 (6th in the AL)
- 2021 League Average OPS (On base + Slugging): .728
- 2021 White Sox OPS: .758 (4th in the AL)
So, the 2021 White Sox were above average in every major hitting metric, and top 10 in the AL. With that being said, they were a team that lacked power. They had the 11th most homers out of 15 AL teams with 190 all year. So while they were an above average hitting team, they lacked power to hit home runs.
So they were a good hitting team in 2021. What about pitching?
Were the Sox a good pitching team in 2021? They had some pretty good pitchers. Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Dallas Kuechel, and Carlos Rodon made up their starting 5. They had now amazing starter Garett Crochet in their bullpen, boasting a 2.82 ERA in 54 games and 54.1 IP.
Lets take a look at 2021 White Sox pitching vs 2021 League Average Pitching
- 2021 League Average ERA (Earned Run Average): 4.26
- 2021 White Sox ERA: 3.73 (2nd best in the AL)
- 2021 League Average SO/9 (Strikeout Per Nine Innings): 8.9�
- 2021 White Sox SO/9: 10.2
- 2021 League Average SO/W (Amount of Strikeouts per Walk allowed): 2.67
- 2021 White Sox SO/W: 3.27
- 2021 League Average WHIP (baserunners allowed per inning pitched): 1.297
- 2021 White Sox WHIP: 1.204
They also had the most Complete Games in the AL with 4, 3 of which were shutouts, They had the 4th most bullpen saves in the AL with 43. They gave up the least amount of hits, least amount of runs, the 2nd least least amount of home runs, the fifth least walks, and the most strikeouts out of any team in the AL that season.
The 2021 White Sox were an above average pitching AND hitting team. Clearly there’s a method or reason to why they won nearly 100 games, but what caused their downfall in the ALDS to the Houston Astros?
The main problem? Pitching.Even after I rattled off all of those amazing regular season pitching stats, the main problem with the White Sox in the 2021 postseason was PITCHING.
The 2021 White Sox postseason era comes out at a horrible 7.94. The Houston Astros scored 6 runs or more in ALL FOUR GAMES they played in the series, only losing one of them.
Another problem for the White Sox in the postseason that year was actually getting runs across the plate. They hit just fine – batting to a .291 average in the 2021 postseason. The problem? Hitting when it mattered. In all four games in the series with the exception of ONE, the White Sox scored 4 or less runs. Two of those games they were held to a SINGULAR run. It shouldn’t make sense – .291 is a good average. The issue is undoubtedly actually hitting when it meant something.
So, what does this mean for the 2021 White Sox? Should we call this season a complete failure? No. It was an amazing year overall, and the Sox played well the majority of the season. Should we call it a POSTSEASON failure? Absolutely. They did NOT show up in the playoffs, and it should most definitely count as a complete and utter postseason failure.
What does this mean for 2022? Would they repeat what they managed to accomplish? Spoiler Alert: NO.
2022 White Sox
In 2022, the team ended the year going an even 81 – 81 record. They ended the year 5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the last AL Wild Card spot, and missed the playoffs completely. In 2021, they were a slightly above average hitting team, and in 2022 with a team OPS+ of 97, they are slightly below league average. In terms of pitching, they were exactly around league average with a team ERA+ of 101. (100 being average)
But how do the 2022 Sox compare to the 2021 Sox and league average? Lets dive into the stats and find out.
Batting
The 2022 Sox were an underwhelming hitting team at best, with their best hitter by OPS+ being Eloy Jimenez, who hit 16 HR, 54 RBI, hit for a .295 average, and a 141 OPS+. This team lacked power even worse than the 2021 team did, because 16 HR was the highest amount of a single player on this team. Lets dig a little deeper into the stats.
- 2022 League Average Batting Average: .243
- 2022 White Sox Batting Average: .256 (3rd place in the AL)
- 2021 White Sox Batting Average: .256
- 2022 League Average OBP (On base Percentage): .312
- 2022 White Sox OBP: .310 (8th out of 15th in the AL)
- 2021 White Sox OBP: .336
- 2022 League Average SLG (Slugging Percentage): .395
- 2022 White Sox SLG: .387 (10th out of 15th in the AL)
- 2021 White Sox SLG: .422
- 2022 League Average OPS (On base + Slugging): .706
- 2022 White Sox OPS: .698 (8th out of 15th in the AL)
- 2021 White Sox OPS: .758
While the 2022 Sox matched the 2021 Sox batting average of .256, they decreased considerably in every other metric, moving from above average to below average. They were worse at getting on base, worse at hitting the ball hard, and also walked the 2nd least in the entire AL, and ranked 10th out of 15th in amount of home runs hit. The 2022 White Sox weren’t abhorrently terrible on the hitting side, just not good. “Mid” is the best description I can give to them. Although the league as a whole got worse at batting in 2022, I just cant give them a pass for how amazingly average this team was in general.
In 2022, the Sox were a slightly above average pitching team, with the brightest spot being star pitcher Dylan Cease. Cease finished runner up in Cy Young voting in 2022, pitching to a 2.20 ERA with 227 Strikeouts on the year. Although Dylan Cease was great, he was the only truly reliable starter on this Chicago team. All other starting pitchers had an ERA north of 3.50.
How does the pitching of this team compare to 2021, and league average?
- 2022 League Average ERA (Earned Run Average): 3.96
- 2022 Sox ERA: 3.92
- 2021 Sox ERA: 3.73
- 2022 League Average SO/9 (Strikeout Per Nine Innings): 8.5
- 2022 Sox SO/9: 9.0
- 2021 Sox SO/9: 10.2
- 2022 League Average SO/W (Amount of Strikeouts per Walk allowed): 2.75
- 2022 Sox SO/W: 2.72
- 2021 Sox SO/W: 3.27
- 2022 League Average WHIP (baserunners allowed per inning pitched): 1.266
- 2022 Sox WHIP: 1.287
- 2021 Sox WHIP: 1.204
While the 2022 Sox were slightly above league average in all of these major metrics (besides WHIP) they are well below their 2021 numbers, which may explain the sudden decrease in wins and overall production. The cause of this? starting pitching.
Like I stated earlier, Dylan Cease was the only real reliable starter, with the rest of their rotation averaging just under a 4.00 ERA. Cease led the league in least amount of walks given up, was a top pitcher in terms of strikeouts, and led the league in shutouts.
So, what was the main problem for the 2022 Sox? Mediocrity. They weren’t horrible in every metric but they weren’t great. Around league average everywhere, their 81 – 81 record, perfectly average, sums up their team in its entirety. Not good, but not horrible.
One thing that was utterly horrible?
The 2023 Chicago White Sox.
2023 White Sox
In 2023, the White Sox absolutely fell apart. They finished the year 61 – 101, in 4th place in the AL central. Only the horrendous 2023 Kansas City Royals team was worse, finishing with 106 losses. The 2023 Sox were extremely below average in terms of hitting with a team OPS+ of 84, and were well below average in pitching with a team ERA+ of 91.
Again, lets see how the 2023 team played in comparison to 2021, 2022, and 2023 league average.
There isn’t really much to say about the batting aspect…they were horrible. Just horrible. Their best hitter by FAR was Luis Robert Jr., belting 38 Home runs, and driving in 80 runs in, with an OPS+ of 129. This was a career year for Luis Robert Jr, proving that he could produce like a superstar in Chicago. Robert was truly the only bright spot on this team, due to the regression of Dylan Cease and the overall lack of production offensively. Out of 9 starting players in their lineup, 6 of them hit to an OPS+ below 100.
Lets dive into the numbers.
- 2023 League Average Batting Average: .248
- 2023 Sox Batting Average: .238
- 2022 Sox Batting Average: .256
- 2021 Sox Batting Average: .256
- 2023 League Average OBP (On base Percentage): .320
- 2023 Sox OBP: .291 (Worst in the AL)
- 2022 Sox OBP: .310
- 2021 Sox OBP: .336
- 2023 League Average SLG (Slugging Percentage): .414
- 2023 Sox SLG: .384 (3rd worst in the AL)
- 2022 Sox SLG: .387
- 2021 Sox SLG: .422
- 2023 League Average OPS (On base + Slugging): .734
- 2023 Sox OPS: .675 (2nd worst in the AL)
- 2022 Sox OPS: .698
- 2021 Sox OPS: .758
Across the board, as the years go on, the team just keeps getting worse and worse. 2023 is horrible, dropping from their above average BA of .256 to a well below average .238. They were the worst at getting on base, 3rd worst at hitting the ball hard, and were the 2nd worst in terms of OPS. One of the biggest reasons this team lost 101 games is most definitely because of their terrible offensive production.
2023 was a depressing year in terms of pitching for the Sox. The great Dylan Cease regressed from an amazing 2.20 ERA to an honestly bad 4.58 ERA, and pitched to a below league average ERA+ of 97. Out of the 6 starting pitchers they ran with in 2023, only 2 of them, Mike Clevinger and Lucas Giolito, pitched above league average.
Can you take a guess at how these numbers compare to the 2021 and 2022 teams, and 2023 league average? Lets take a look.
- 2023 League Average ERA (Earned Run Average): 4.33
- 2023 White Sox ERA: 4.87 (3rd worst in the AL)
- 2022 White Sox ERA: 3.92
- 2021 White Sox ERA: 3.73
- 2023 League Average SO/9 (Strikeout Per Nine Innings): 8.7
- 2023 White Sox SO/9: 9.2
- 2022 White Sox SO/9: 9.0
- 2021 White Sox SO/9: 10.2
- 2023 League Average SO/W (Amount of Strikeouts per Walk allowed): 2.65
- 2023 White Sox SO/W: 2.25
- 2022 White Sox SO/W: 2.72
- 2021 White Sox SO/W: 3.27
- 2023 League Average WHIP (baserunners allowed per inning pitched): 1.315
- 2023 White Sox WHIP: 1.415
- 2022 White Sox WHIP: 1.287
- 2021 White Sox WHIP: 1.204
Chicago was a horrible team in 2023. They had the 3rd least pitching wins, the 3rd worst team ERA, the 2nd least saves with 28, 4th least hits in the AL, 3rd least runs in the AL, and the 2nd least walks drawn in the AL.
Their starting rotation was bad. The lowest ERA from their rotation was a 3.77 from Mike Clevinger. While Both Mike Clevinger and Lucas Giolito pitched above league average, both of their ERA’s were north of 3.60, and it wasn’t far above league average. They lacked starting pitching, they lacked a bullpen, they lacked most things of what made a pitching staff good. The 2023 pitching staff was an absolute MESS.
It’s hard to put into words what one singular main problem for the 2023 Sox is. They were bad all around the board, so their main problem would be.. not knowing how to be a good baseball team? Its hard to say. The most definitive one I suppose could be batting, because they are farther below league average in batting than they are below league average in pitching.
Besides Luis Robert Jr.’s monster season, their only real offensive bright spot was 1B Andrew Vaughn…maybe. Like a dim bright spot at most. He hit for an 102 OPS+, just 2 points above league average, hit 21 home runs, and drove in 80 runs (which is oddly the same amount Robert drove in – though his OPS+ was 129).
Only the 106 Loss Kansas City Royals, 112 Loss Oakland Athletics, and 103 Loss Colorado Rockies lost more games than this White Sox team, and even then still managed to best the White Sox in certain offensive categories.
In brutal honesty, 2023 was a joke of a “season” for the Sox. But I mean… how could it get any worse? Right?
The mess of 2024
The year is 2024. Today’s date is June 13th. Opening day for the MLB was March 28th. 77 days ago.
THE WHITE SOX HAVE YET TO WIN OVER 20 GAMES.
The Chicago White Sox currently sit at the bottom of the AL Central, 17 – 51, by FAR the worst team in not only the American League, but the entire MLB. Not a single team besides Chicago hasn’t managed to win at least 20 games yet. Honestly, one word I’d personally use to describe today’s Sox is “embarrassing”. Truly. They are batting a league worst 78 OPS+ and a team 82 ERA+.
One last time, lets take a look at the hitting and pitching stats that make this year so horrible.
Note: Advanced stats are accurate and collected as of June 11th
The 2024 Sox offensive stats are the worst. No literally, they’re the worst in the entire MLB. There is not a single team that has been worse than the Chicago White Sox this year in terms of offensive production.
Their best hitter by OPS+, Gavin Sheets, has hit 7 home runs, driven in 28 runs, batted to a .242 average, and has a 122 OPS+ on the year. This being your best hitter is, well, embarrassing.
Luis Robert Jr has been injured for most of this year, BUT he has recently returned. With 5 HR and 8 RBI in the 13 games he’s played, that currently sets his 162 game pace to 65 HR and 104 RBI. Now obviously, this isn’t going to happen because its assuming he plays every single game at the exact same pace for the rest of the season, but an interesting point nonetheless.
Here’s our last dive into batting analytics for the White Sox, take a look: (Bold = Best)
- 2024 League Average Batting Average: .240
- 2024 White Sox Batting Average: .218 (Worst in the MLB)
- 2023 White Sox Batting Average: .238
- 2022 White Sox Batting Average: .256
- 2021 White Sox Batting Average: .256
- 2024 League Average OBP (On base Percentage): .311
- 2024 White Sox OBP: .280 (Worst in the MLB)
- 2023 White Sox OBP: .291
- 2022 White Sox OBP: .310
- 2021 White Sox OBP: .336
- 2024 League Average SLG (Slugging Percentage): .388
- 2024 White Sox SLG: .345 (Worst in the MLB)
- 2023 White Sox SLG: .384
- 2022 White Sox SLG: .387
- 2021 White Sox SLG: .422
- 2024 League Average OPS (On base + Slugging): .699
- 2024 White Sox OPS: .624 (Worst in the MLB)
- 2023 White Sox OPS: .675
- 2022 White Sox OPS: .698
- 2021 White Sox OPS: .758
With our final look at offensive stats, our final takeaways can be seen:
- The Sox are not a good hitting team
- They are progressively getting worse at hitting
- They aren’t doing much to fix it.
They are the worst at hitting the ball, the worst at getting on base, the worst at hitting the ball hard, have the worst team OPS, have the least amount of walks this season, have the least amount of total bases, have the least amount of hits, have the least amount of runs, and have grounded into 51 double plays on the season. What is wrong with this team? 5 of their 9 are hitting below league average. The ones that are hitting above league average are just barely doing so. Dare I say, they’ve hit rock bottom?
The Sox have been a well below average pitching team, pitching to a previously mentioned 82 ERA+. Bullpen Closer turned amazing starter Garrett Crochet has gotten off to a great start this year – striking out hitters left and right and pitching to a 122 ERA+. Eric Fedde has also pitched well, tossing to a 131 ERA+.
That is where the positives end.
The rest of the rotation is pitching well below league average, and nobody in their bullpen has an ERA south of 4.00. Read along as we analyze the stats one last time: (Bold = Best)
- 2024 League Average ERA (Earned Run Average): 3.97
- 2024 Sox ERA: 5.00 (worst in the AL, 2nd worst in the MLB)
- 2023 Sox ERA: 4.87
- 2022 Sox ERA: 3.92
- 2021 Sox ERA: 3.73
- 2024 League Average SO/9 (Strikeout Per Nine Innings): 8.5
- 2024 White Sox SO/9: 8.7
- 2023 White Sox SO/9: 9.2
- 2022 White Sox SO/9: 9.0
- 2021 White Sox SO/9: 10.2
- 2024 League Average SO/W (Amount of Strikeouts per Walk allowed): 2.68
- 2024 White Sox SO/W: 2.14
- 2023 White Sox SO/W: 2.25
- 2022 White Sox SO/W: 2.72
- 2021 White Sox SO/W: 3.27
- 2024 League Average WHIP (baserunners allowed per inning pitched): 1.260
- 2024 White Sox WHIP: 1.439
- 2023 White Sox WHIP: 1.415
- 2022 White Sox WHIP: 1.287
- 2021 White Sox WHIP: 1.204
With our pitching stats laid out fully, from 2021 – 2024, we can make our key takeaways:
- The White Sox are a bad pitching team
- They have progressively gotten worse at pitching since 2021
- Not even Dylan Cease or Garrett Crochet have helped this team recover
This team is horrendous. No other words for it. Can they recover? Maybe. If they manage to pull in decent trade packages for Luis Robert Jr. and/or Garret Crochet at the deadline this year, then MAYBE a young talented core could help this absolutely abysmal baseball team. Like I said earlier, one word. Embarrassing.
So after all this analysis, all of this bashing on the White Sox, what’s clear?
That the White Sox need to make some huge changes.
They’ve been on a downward spiral ever since their hopeful 2021 season that seems so long ago now. For the Sox, everything seems to go wrong exactly when it shouldn’t. When they do make the playoffs in 2021, they stop hitting when it matters, and their pitching falls apart. In 2022, their hitting is average and their pitching is average, so their team is evidently: average. in 23-24…well, there isn’t much to say besides they just play all around horrible baseball. Hitting. Pitching. All around, horrible. What do these White Sox need to do?
They need to make a CHANGE.
To all White Sox fans – I’m sorry this is your team. Thank you all for reading
Kuro S.
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