37 games into the 2025 season, the White Sox hold a 10-27 record, good for a birthday but not for a record. This is one game ahead of last year, when the White Sox started their longest winning streak of the year by defeating the Rays 4-1 to go to 9-28 on the year. The White Sox, of course, finished last year with the most losses in modern MLB history.
Tag / Rays
Ballpark Tour: White Sox
With Opening Day in the books, it is time to wrap up our tour of all of the baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years with the ones I’ve been to the most: the homes of the Chicago White Sox. Between the two stadiums that have been located at the corners of 35th and Shields, I’ve seen at least 668 games, all but one of which have involved the White Sox. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Comiskey Park and the facility currently known as Rate Field.
Stadium Name: Comiskey Park
Years in Service: 1910 – 1990
Visits: 13 (that I’m aware of)
Comiskey Park, the so-called Baseball Palace of the World, was the home of the White Sox from 1910 through the 1990 season. Built on a former city dump at the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue, the stadium opened on July 1, 1910, as the White Sox lost to the St. Louis Browns 2-0. The final game for the old ballyard occurred on September 30, 1990, a 2-1 victory over the Mariners.
Comiskey Park was the host for four World Series, including three in a row from 1917-1919. The White Sox won the World Series in 1917 against the New York Giants. The Cubs, looking for a larger seating capacity, moved their home games in the 1918 series against the Red Sox to Comiskey Park. The 1919 World Series, of course, was the Black Sox scandal, where the White Sox threw the series against the Reds. The White Sox returned to the World Series 40 years later in 1959 but fell to the Dodgers. The final post-season games to be played in Comiskey Park were games 3 and 4 of the 1983 ALCS, which the White Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles.
Comiskey Park was also the host to three All-Star games. The first All-Star game, in 1933, was held in conjunction with Century of Progress Exposition being held on Chicago’s lakefront. The event returned to Chicago’s south side in 1950 and the final All-Star game at Comiskey Park was in 1983, the 50th anniversary of the first game. Comiskey Park was also the frequent home of the Negro League East-West All-Star Game from 1933 to 1960.
Looking back, I’ve now been able to piece together evidence of 13 games that I attended at Comiskey Park, either from pictures, stadium giveaways, or specific memories. I know there are more, but I have not been able to pinpoint exact games as of yet. The most memorable game I can remember would be the final night game, on September 29, 1990, where, after the game, the lights were symbolically turned off for the final time.
Stadium Name: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field/Rate Field
Years in Service: 1991 – Present
Visits: 655
On the evening of June 30, 1988, with the clock literally stopped, the Illinois legislature passed a bill that provided the financing for a new stadium for the White Sox, stopping them from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida. Two and a half years later, on April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park II opened, the first new major facility built in Chicago since the erection of the Chicago Stadium in 1929. Sadly, the White Sox were embarrassed by the Tigers, losing 16-0 in the opening of their new park.
Unfortunately for the White Sox, the new Comiskey Park was the last stadium to be built prior to the wave of retro ballparks that started with the opening of Camden Yards the following year. Because of this, there have been numerous renovations to the park, starting in 2001 with the addition of nearly 2000 seats and the relocation of the bullpens. More extensive renovations began in 2003 in preparation for that season’s All-Star Game and using the money generated from selling the naming rights to US Cellular, and continued through 2007, when the replacement of the blue seats with green seats was completed. Less extensive renovations have occurred since, replacing the different video boards and creating premium seating areas.
The post-season came to the new Comiskey Park for the first time in 1993, as the White Sox battled the Blue Jays in the ALCS. The stadium hosted its first World Series games in 2005, the first to be played in the city of Chicago since 1959, as the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros and win their first World Series since 1917.
I attended my first game at the new Comiskey Park on April 20, 1991, the second game in the stadium’s history. Since then, I’ve been to 654 other games at the stadium, the majority coming from 2005 on, when I became a season ticket holder. I went to both games of the 2000 ALDS, which the White Sox lost to the Mariners, both games of the 2005 ALDS, which the White Sox won against the Red Sox, both games of the 2005 ALCS, which the White Sox split against the Angels, and game 2 of the 2005 World Series. I attended game 163 of the 2008 season to break the tie between the White Sox and the Twins. and then the two ALDS games against the Rays, the first time I saw the White Sox actually end a post-season series, either in victory or defeat.
Notable regular season games I’ve seen at what is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field include the September 18, 2001 game against the Yankees as baseball returned following the attacks of 9/11, the April 16, 2005 game where Mark Buehrle defeated the Mariners in 1 hour and 39 minutes, the April 2, 2006 season opener against the Indians when the World Series championship banner was raised, the April 4, 2006 game where the players received their World Series rings, and the September 16, 2007 game where Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run against the Angels. Not to mention a streak of 24 consecutive home openers.
All Time Team Records
After a long winter, the North American portion of the 2025 baseball season is set to get underway tomorrow. To celebrate, it is time once again to look at the all-time team records for games that I have identified as having attended dating back to 1984. Last year, I posted my lowest total since 2001, a decrease of 16 games from the year before, and managed to see 20 out of the 30 teams, so there should be some nice changes.
The White Sox are coming off the most losses in modern major league history and may be hard-pressed to avoid breaking that record again this year. On the other side of town, the Cubs made some big moves to get back into playoff contention. The 2025 season may look completely different on each side of town.
All-Time Team Records
Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
---|---|---|---|
California Angels | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 16 | 4 | 0.800 |
Cleveland Guardians | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
New York Yankees | 19 | 12 | 0.613 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 18 | 12 | 0.600 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 13 | 9 | 0.591 |
Colorado Rockies | 11 | 8 | 0.579 |
Boston Red Sox | 21 | 16 | 0.568 |
Los Angeles Angels | 20 | 16 | 0.556 |
Washington Nationals | 7 | 6 | 0.538 |
Detroit Tigers | 35 | 30 | 0.538 |
Cleveland Indians | 31 | 27 | 0.534 |
Chicago Cubs | 238 | 215 | 0.525 |
Houston Astros | 26 | 25 | 0.510 |
Chicago White Sox | 372 | 360 | 0.508 |
Continue reading → |
2025 Predictions
With the Cubs and Dodgers having already gotten their seasons off to an early start in Tokyo, the North American portion of the 2025 baseball season is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, with a full slate of games featuring all 30 teams. For the fifteenth consecutive year, I’ve looked into the crystal ball to make my picks for the upcoming season.
American League
East: Red Sox
Central: Guardians
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Rays, Twins, Orioles
AL Champion: Guardians
Cy Young: Garrett Crochet
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
National League
Ballpark Tour: Rays
With the offseason underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head south to the Tampa Bay area for a look at the Tampa Bay Rays. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with the place now known as Tropicana Field.
Years in Service: 1997 – Present
Visits: 2
Originally known as the Florida Suncoast Dome, the stadium now known as Tropicana Field was built in the late 1980s in the hopes of luring a baseball franchise to the Tampa/St. Pete area. Ironically, the White Sox would have called the park home had the Illinois legislature not approved funding for what is now Guaranteed Rate Field. The stadium opened in 1990, hosting the Davis Cup finals that fall, but was still looking for an MLB team as the primary tenant. After National League owners blocked the sale of the Giants to Tampa-based investors who planned to move the team, the park was used for the local Arena Football team and as the initial home of the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1995, the area was awarded an expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who would begin play in 1997.
After the long pandemic, I decided to take the long drive down to Florida in August of 2021 for a long getaway. After arriving in town on Friday night, I made my maiden voyage to Tropicana Field the following afternoon. The White Sox put up little fight, losing to the Rays 8-4. I returned the following afternoon looking for a better result but instead saw a 9-0 shutout by the Rays.
Due to damage from Hurricane Milton, the Rays will be forced to play their 2025 schedule at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the spring training home of the Yankees. A new stadium built in the same location in St. Petersburg was planned to open in 2028, but, if the funding is still in play, may be needed sooner.
Another Name Change
Eight years into a thirteen-year deal, Guaranteed Rate Field will now be known as Rate Field. While the new name rolls off the tongue a little easier than the previous moniker, it is still a bit of a clunker. Guaranteed Rate rebranded as simply Rate this past July, so the new name aligns with the corporate master.
In the time the park was known as Guaranteed Rate, I saw 203 games, including post-season play in 2021 and the worst team in modern MLB history in 2024.
All-Time Team Records
Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
---|---|---|---|
Milwaukee Brewers | 3 | 1 | 0.750 |
Cleveland Guardians | 4 | 2 | 0.667 |
San Diego Padres | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
Arizona Diamondbacks | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
Chicago Cubs | 7 | 4 | 0.636 |
Seattle Mariners | 7 | 4 | 0.636 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 5 | 3 | 0.625 |
Boston Red Sox | 6 | 4 | 0.600 |
Cleveland Indians | 7 | 5 | 0.583 |
New York Yankees | 4 | 3 | 0.571 |
Detroit Tigers | 13 | 10 | 0.565 |
Houston Astros | 6 | 5 | 0.545 |
Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
Los Angeles Angels | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 2 | 2 | 0.500 |
Texas Rangers | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
Oakland Athletics | 6 | 7 | 0.462 |
Chicago White Sox | 93 | 110 | 0.458 |
Minnesota Twins | 7 | 9 | 0.438 |
Kansas City Royals | 8 | 12 | 0.400 |
Baltimore Orioles | 3 | 5 | 0.375 |
San Francisco Giants | 1 | 2 | 0.333 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 2 | 5 | 0.286 |
2024 Final Standings
A hugely disappointing season came to an end this weekend, once again leaving both Chicago teams home for October. The Cubs planned on being a playoff contender this year after poaching manager Craig Counsell from the Brewers but failed to put it all together. The White Sox, on the other hand, put together an absolutely horrific performance, setting the modern MLB record for most losses in a season and notching the sixth time in franchise history that they’ve lost 100 or more games. Because of this, I ended up attending just 27 games, my lowest total since becoming a season ticket holder in 2002. All told, I managed to see 20 of the 30 teams.
2024 Team Records
Team Name | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
---|---|---|---|
Detroit Tigers | 4 | 0 | 1.000 |
Baltimore Orioles | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Cincinnati Reds | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Cleveland Guardians | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Houston Astros | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Los Angeles Dodgers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
New York Mets | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
San Diego Padres | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Seattle Mariners | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
Boston Red Sox | 2 | 1 | 0.667 |
Chicago Cubs | 3 | 2 | 0.600 |
Oakland Athletics | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
Kansas City Royals | 1 | 1 | 0.500 |
Chicago White Sox | 6 | 18 | 0.250 |
Los Angeles Angels | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Atlanta Braves | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Colorado Rockies | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 0 | 1 | 0.000 |
2024 Predictions Revisited
Six months ago, I made my annual predictions as to who would win what. With the Wild Card round in full swing, it is time to revisit those predictions and see what, if anything, I got right.
American League
East: Rays
Well, after missing the postseason for the first time since 2016, the Yankees stormed back to take the AL East crown. Meanwhile, the Rays struggled early and never really found their groove.
Central: Guardians
Would you look at that? I got one right, as the Guardians led a resurgent AL Central for most of the season.
West: Mariners
The Mariners did lead the division for a while, but, at the end of the day, the Astros managed to win the division for the fourth straight year and the seventh year out of the last eight.
Wild Cards: Astros, Blue Jays, Yankees
I guess I can take solace in the fact that two of these choices are headed to the post-season, though as division champions. A surprisingly strong AL Central, thanks to getting to face the putrid White Sox many times, landed two Wild Card spots with the Royals and the Tigers. The Orioles snagged the top spot.
AL Champion: Yankees
The Yankees look to have the hardest path, having to face either the Tigers, the hottest team in baseball heading into the post-season, or the Orioles, against whom they lost eight of their thirteen contests this year. I hate to say it, but the Astros may make another appearance in the Fall Classic.
Cy Young: Tristan McKenzie
McKenzie struggled this year and split the year between Cleveland and Triple A Columbus. Tiger starter Tarik Skubal looks to be the front-runner.
MVP: Julio Rodriguez
Another wrong guess. Aaron Judge will probably take it home for the second time in three seasons.
National League
Buying, Not Selling
The Cubs, who are a mere percentage point out of last place in the NL Central as of this moment, should, by all rights, be selling off as we approach the trade deadline, are instead stocking up on major league assets. They struck this afternoon, acquiring Isaac Paredes from the Rays in exchange for Christopher Morel, Hunter Bigge, and Ty Johnson.
Morel has supplied many big moments over the past two seasons but has struggled to turn those moments into sustained success. Paredes, who originally signed with the Cubs as an amateur in 2015, made his first All Star team this year and is still under team control for three more years, which means this is likely a move for 2025 and beyond rather than an expectation that the Cubs will jump back into contention this year.
Looking Ahead To 2025
Last week, on the extra off day in the All-Star break, Major League Baseball released their tentative 2025 schedule while I was away in Amsterdam. For the third year in a row, MLB is keeping with a balanced schedule, playing 52 games against division opponents, 64 games against non-division opponents in the same league, and 46 interleague games, with series against every team in the opposite league. With the White Sox about to cement the worst season in franchise history and the Cubs trying to figure out what went wrong on their way back to contention, the 2025 season looks like it could be a long one for the city of Chicago. So, for one day, at least, let’s turn our attention to next summer for both teams.
The White Sox celebrate the 125th anniversary of the franchise, opening their season on March 27 at home against the Angels, kicking off a six-game homestand that also features the Twins. They will make their first visit to Sacramento, the new home of the A’s, in the last weekend of April.
The interleague schedule sees the Phillies, Marlins, Cardinals, Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Padres coming to Guaranteed Rate Field, while the White Sox will go on the road to face the Pirates, Reds, Dodgers, Braves, Mets, Rockies, and Nationals. The rivalry with their north side foes continues with a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field in mid-May followed by another weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field the last weekend in July.
After wrapping up the home portion of the schedule in mid-September against the Orioles and Padres, the White Sox wrap up the 2025 season on the east coast, battling the Yankees and the Nationals to finish up the year.
On the north side, the Cubs head to Japan to open their season on March 18 with a two-game tilt against the Dodgers in Tokyo. They return to the US to face the Diamondbacks on March 27 before heading to Sacramento for the first time to face the A’s. They open up the home portion of the 2025 season on April 4 against the Padres.
Aside from the A’s, the Cubs will head out on the road to face the Twins, Angels, Yankees, Blue Jays, and Tigers, while the Mariners, Orioles, Guardians, Red Sox, and Royals will be coming to Wrigley Field.
Only ten of their 25 games in September are against their NL Central rivals, which could make a difference should the Cubs find themselves in contention. They end the year with a six-game homestand, facing the Mets and the Cardinals.