- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,266,769
- Reaction score
- 59
There's a long and storied history of ESPN finding ways to disrespect the Chicago White Sox. And it happened again this week.
Over the last decade, ESPN's coverage of Chicago baseball and Major League Baseball at large has often been dismissive and sometimes factually inaccurate when it comes to Chicago's South Side ballclub.
Back in 2016, when the Chicago Cubs were on the cusp of winning the World Series and snapping a 108-year franchise drought, ESPN showed a graphic listing Chicago sports championships from recent memory. Six NBA titles from the Chicago Bulls were shown, along with three Stanley Cup victories by the Chicago Blackhawks and even the 1985 Super Bowl won by the Chicago Bears. But the 2005 White Sox were a glaring and notable omission.
Then, as the Los Angeles Dodgers reached the World Series in 2017, ESPN took to social media to share a fun fact:
“The 1998 Yankees were the only World Series champion in the Wild Card era to lose just one postseason game,” read a Twitter post.
It was another omission of the 2005 White Sox, one of the most dominant postseason teams of all time. Chicago went on an 11-1 run through the playoffs, dominating the American League before eventually sweeping the Houston Astros in the World Series.
Fans immediately pointed it out, ESPN deleted the tweet, and former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas called it "disrespectful."
As recently as last year, the White Sox were once again snubbed by ESPN during the 2025 MLB Draft broadcast. Former Houston Astros infielder Chris Burke, who works as a color analyst for ESPN's college baseball coverage, was on the panel during the draft. When ESPN displayed his résumé, one of Burke's listed accolades identified him as a 2005 World Series champion with the Houston Astros.
Do I even need to point out what they got wrong there?
The latest example had nothing to do with the 2005 World Series team, but it was just as absurd to anybody who has been paying attention to Major League Baseball this season.
Following the MLB trade deadline, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Buster Olney revealed their American League power rankings, listing the five teams they believe are the best as we head into the final 50 games of the regular season.
Passan's list was pretty strong from top to bottom. He had the current AL leader, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the top spot, followed by the New York Yankees, the red-hot Boston Red Sox, the White Sox in fourth, and the Cleveland Guardians rounding out the top five.
Nobody can take issue with that. The three teams ahead of the White Sox are all from the AL East, and all three have a better record than Chicago. If you were projecting which team would win the American League right now, the White Sox would certainly have a chance, but they would not be the betting favorite over Tampa Bay, New York, or Boston.
Olney's list, however, was so puzzling that you almost have to assume it was insincere.
The Chicago White Sox were nowhere to be found in his top five. But rest assured, he found a way to include the 55-59 Seattle Mariners. And Olney's top team in the American League? Not the Rays. Not the Yankees. Not even the Red Sox.
He went with the Cleveland Guardians.
The White Sox were left out of the top five entirely, while Olney asserted that the Guardians were the best team in the American League. That would be the same Guardians team that is currently 57-57, trails the White Sox in the season series, and has spent the better part of the last two months looking up at Chicago in the division standings.
The baseball world seems to be waiting for the White Sox to fail. So much so that some people are willing to ignore the results sitting right in front of them.
Dating back to April 27, the White Sox have a record of 48-36. The Guardians are 42-43. Over the last 14 weeks, that puts the White Sox 6.5 games ahead of Cleveland.
Go back even further to April 17. Since then, the White Sox have a run differential of +83. Cleveland has a run differential of -16.
There's not much of an argument right now for saying the Guardians are a better team than the White Sox. Even if that were your personal preference, you would have to admit that the margin between the two teams is slim. But an ESPN baseball analyst stood on the air and declared Cleveland to be the best team in the American League while leaving the White Sox out of his top five entirely.
It's a laughable omission.
Don't expect this to change much over the final few months of the regular season. The White Sox are going to be doubted in the same way they have been all year. People will root for them to fail. And the so-called experts in the media might even try to pretend they don't exist.
It's hard for one fan base to hold such a long-lasting grudge against a single network, but every year, it feels like ESPN adds more fuel to the fire.
Continue reading...
Over the last decade, ESPN's coverage of Chicago baseball and Major League Baseball at large has often been dismissive and sometimes factually inaccurate when it comes to Chicago's South Side ballclub.
Back in 2016, when the Chicago Cubs were on the cusp of winning the World Series and snapping a 108-year franchise drought, ESPN showed a graphic listing Chicago sports championships from recent memory. Six NBA titles from the Chicago Bulls were shown, along with three Stanley Cup victories by the Chicago Blackhawks and even the 1985 Super Bowl won by the Chicago Bears. But the 2005 White Sox were a glaring and notable omission.
Then, as the Los Angeles Dodgers reached the World Series in 2017, ESPN took to social media to share a fun fact:
“The 1998 Yankees were the only World Series champion in the Wild Card era to lose just one postseason game,” read a Twitter post.
It was another omission of the 2005 White Sox, one of the most dominant postseason teams of all time. Chicago went on an 11-1 run through the playoffs, dominating the American League before eventually sweeping the Houston Astros in the World Series.
Fans immediately pointed it out, ESPN deleted the tweet, and former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas called it "disrespectful."
As recently as last year, the White Sox were once again snubbed by ESPN during the 2025 MLB Draft broadcast. Former Houston Astros infielder Chris Burke, who works as a color analyst for ESPN's college baseball coverage, was on the panel during the draft. When ESPN displayed his résumé, one of Burke's listed accolades identified him as a 2005 World Series champion with the Houston Astros.
Do I even need to point out what they got wrong there?
The latest example had nothing to do with the 2005 World Series team, but it was just as absurd to anybody who has been paying attention to Major League Baseball this season.
Following the MLB trade deadline, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Buster Olney revealed their American League power rankings, listing the five teams they believe are the best as we head into the final 50 games of the regular season.
Passan's list was pretty strong from top to bottom. He had the current AL leader, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the top spot, followed by the New York Yankees, the red-hot Boston Red Sox, the White Sox in fourth, and the Cleveland Guardians rounding out the top five.
Nobody can take issue with that. The three teams ahead of the White Sox are all from the AL East, and all three have a better record than Chicago. If you were projecting which team would win the American League right now, the White Sox would certainly have a chance, but they would not be the betting favorite over Tampa Bay, New York, or Boston.
Olney's list, however, was so puzzling that you almost have to assume it was insincere.
The Chicago White Sox were nowhere to be found in his top five. But rest assured, he found a way to include the 55-59 Seattle Mariners. And Olney's top team in the American League? Not the Rays. Not the Yankees. Not even the Red Sox.
He went with the Cleveland Guardians.
The White Sox were left out of the top five entirely, while Olney asserted that the Guardians were the best team in the American League. That would be the same Guardians team that is currently 57-57, trails the White Sox in the season series, and has spent the better part of the last two months looking up at Chicago in the division standings.
The baseball world seems to be waiting for the White Sox to fail. So much so that some people are willing to ignore the results sitting right in front of them.
Dating back to April 27, the White Sox have a record of 48-36. The Guardians are 42-43. Over the last 14 weeks, that puts the White Sox 6.5 games ahead of Cleveland.
Go back even further to April 17. Since then, the White Sox have a run differential of +83. Cleveland has a run differential of -16.
There's not much of an argument right now for saying the Guardians are a better team than the White Sox. Even if that were your personal preference, you would have to admit that the margin between the two teams is slim. But an ESPN baseball analyst stood on the air and declared Cleveland to be the best team in the American League while leaving the White Sox out of his top five entirely.
It's a laughable omission.
Don't expect this to change much over the final few months of the regular season. The White Sox are going to be doubted in the same way they have been all year. People will root for them to fail. And the so-called experts in the media might even try to pretend they don't exist.
It's hard for one fan base to hold such a long-lasting grudge against a single network, but every year, it feels like ESPN adds more fuel to the fire.
Continue reading...
