Andrew Benintendi pointed out the obvious Thursday when he noted that the Chicago White Sox weren’t going to become world beaters all of a sudden.
An 8-1 opening-day win over the Los Angeles Angels at The Rate got things off on the right foot, but it was only one game.
“You never want to look too much into opening day,” he said. “It’s not like we’re going to go out and win 162 games. You’ve got to be realistic. But all the way around, the lineup did well, the pitchers did well, so it’s definitely something to build off of.”
The Sox officially put the worst season in major-league history behind them with a new manager and a new vibe, riding the arm of rookie Sean Burke, who pitched six shutout innings, and a revamped bullpen led by Mike Clevinger 3.0.
It was a raucous day on the South Side and perhaps a sign that the culture truly might change under manager Will Venable, who received a Gatorade shower after his first major-league win.
The crowd of 31,403 was far from a sellout, but it was loud and boisterous, letting bygones be bygones after September’s bizarro series at home in which many fans cheered for an Angels win just so they could say they witnessed history. The Sox swept that series and didn’t break the record for losses until the next day in Detroit.
This time they actually cheered and booed at the appropriate times. Venable looked cool, calm and collected, but inside he was a bundle of nerves.
“There’s emotion there,” he said. “I don’t know. You tell me if I’m emotional. I’m not really paying attention to it. I’m just trying to focus on the game. But believe me, there are emotions and a lot of thoughts going on.”
This franchise is under the microscope because of an uncertain future under Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. While waiting to sell the Sox to billionaire Justin Ishbia, Reinsdorf has a lot of time to ponder the fate of his team while it’s still in his hands.
When last we heard from Reinsdorf, at the end of a disastrous 2024 season, he was thanking Sox fans for their support despite what he called “an embarrassing” year. An apology letter he sent at the end of the season was meant to placate the angry mob of fans and to let them know he felt their pain as a “fan of baseball, of Chicago and of the White Sox.”
“Every loss this season — every blown save, every defensive miscue, every shutout, every sweep — hurt,” he wrote. “It was a long, painful season for us all. We recognize, on a daily basis, that it is our responsibility to earn your trust, attention, time and support. We vow to take that approach daily as we put the work in this offseason to be better. We owe it to each and every one of you.”
Reinsdorf repaid fans by reducing the opening-day payroll to an absurdly miniscule $62.7 million, according to spotrac.com, third-lowest in the majors. Swell guy.
But opening day is the proverbial day of hope, and the Sox hope to prove the experts wrong with the greatest comeback season ever. No team that has lost 121 games has ever made the postseason the following year. Of course, no modern-day team had lost 121 games before, but that’s neither here nor there.
Oddsmakers have put the Sox over/under at 53.5 wins, the lowest total set by sportsbooks in 35 seasons, according to ESPN. I’m not a gambler, but I’d take the over. The Sox started 3-22 last year, and that’s not going to happen again. Even a very, very bad team can go 54-108 with a few breaks. As Jack Brickhouse might say, the Sox are due.
There were a few early glitches Thursday, as could be expected. The graphic under the center-field scoreboard with the pitch speed and pitch type was not working until the second inning. The Chicago Sports Network was still unavailable for Comcast customers who either forgot to buy an antenna or couldn’t hook it up after they got it.
The players all received nice ovations when introduced after the traditional big-truck parade from center field. One fan in Section 142 asked aloud why they didn’t introduce the surgeons who performed the five Tommy John surgeries on Sox pitchers this spring.
The first official boos of 2025 came in the first, when Burke fell behind Jorge Soler 3-1 after giving up a double and hitting Mike Trout in the left hand. But Burke struck out Soler and Tim Anderson to end the threat and eventually retired the final 14 batters he faced.
Anderson, who won the starting job at second in spring training, also received a nice ovation when he came to the plate in the first and again when a tribute video was played between innings. Once the face of the franchise, his Sox career ended on a down note after being let go after 2023. But his familiar smile was back Thursday, at least until he went hitless.
When I asked Anderson before the game if he was back to his old, bat-flipping ways, he humbly replied: “I’m a little more mature. The slogan was ‘Let the kids play.’ I’m kind of mature like that now, so I just want to play and enjoy the game and stay out of the way as much as I can and just chase something that’s impossible, which is greatness.”
Former Sox third baseman Yoán Moncada, on the other hand, was cheered early when introduced on the video board and later booed when he pinch-hit in the seventh. He was booed again after he drew a walk.
Anderson admitted he didn’t know many of the current Sox players. Only four position players from last year’s opener — Luis Robert Jr., Andrew Vaughn, Benintendi and Korey Lee — remain with the team, along with reliever Jordan Leasure, who spent time in the minors in 2024.
Some people launder money for a living. General manager Chris Getz laundered most of the Sox roster, though he did bring back Clevinger, who won the closer’s job in spring training. Clevinger struck out Soler on a high fastball to end the eighth with the bases loaded and two outs, cranking up the crowd.
“That was huge … Mike’s the guy,” Venable said. “He handles those situations well. The test came early for him. That was obviously a big moment for him, and to see him get out of it was good to see.”
Home runs from Benintendi and Lenyn Sosa in a five-run eighth turned the game into a laugher, something the Sox, much less their fans, didn’t experience much in ’24.
“There was a buzz around the stadium the whole game,” Benintendi said. “It’s nice to have them back in the stands and playing in front of a big crowd. Today obviously it was a good win, but maybe obviously a breath of fresh air for them, too, to get a win with some ease.”
Any kind of win would’ve sufficed for Sox fans who suffered through two straight 100-plus-loss seasons.
“This is a new season and a clean slate,” Venable said.
The apology letter is officially on hold.
