With their opening seven-game West Coast trip in the books, the Chicago White Sox opened the home portion of their season Thursday with a 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Here’s how the day unfolded.
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5:27 p.m.: Cheers for the ‘Sodfather’ and finally a first pitch
After the traditional booing of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, fans gave a rousing reception to head groundskeeper Roger “Sodfather” Bossard, celebrating his 55th season with the Sox.
Ron Kessler, 65, a season-ticket holder since 1982, said he got through the 2020 season by watching games and reairings on TV, but was glad to be back in his seats for the first time since 2019.
“The ballpark looks great,” he said. “I was in Arizona for eight games. Just to hear the sounds again and be back at the ballpark, it’s such a dream.”
Kessler is one of the rare fans in attendance who was a season ticket holder during Tony La Russa’s first tenure as Sox manager at old Comiskey Park and said “that 1983 season is still my favorite season.” He’s hoping La Russa can recreate that magic of ’83 with the current team.
“I was excited, but also devastated with the news of (Eloy Jimenez’s) injury,” he said.
La Russa received a warm welcome from Sox fans during introductions, but not nearly as loud as the reception for players Tim Anderson, Jose Abreu and Lucas Giolito.
Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf later handed Abreu his MVP plaque, shortly before the game began at 5:20 p.m. with the familiar sight of fireworks for the first time since 2019. Temperature at first pitch was 58 degrees.
— Paul Sullivan
4:31 p.m.: First pitch?
A tentative first pitch is now set for 5:20 p.m., the White Sox announced.
The fans at Guaranteed Rate Field applauded as the grounds crew started pulling the tarp.
So go get some snacks and check back in a bit.
3:49 p.m.: Tim Anderson says he’s at ‘85%’ in his recovery from a hamstring injury
Tim Anderson said he feels as if he’s at about 85% as he recovers from a strained left hamstring.
The Sox placed the shortstop on the 10-day injured list Wednesday (retroactive to Monday).
“Been feeling great, been able to get up to speed a little bit,” Anderson said. “Each day feeling better, so that’s a positive. Definitely feeling good and just keep working and come back 100%.”
General manager Rick Hahn said the Sox are working under the projection that Anderson will be back as soon as the 10 days are up, “which would be the last day of the Cleveland series.”
“There’s still milestones to pass,” Hahn said. “He hasn’t been out on the field taking ground balls just yet. An injury like his, you want to err on the side of caution. We will ramp him up accordingly and if need be adjust the timing but right now the expectation would be is he returns on Day 11.”
— LaMond Pope
3:15 p.m.: ‘Everybody loves to see accountability,’ GM Rick Hahn says of Tony La Russa’s harsh self-critique
Tony La Russa’s harsh assessment of his own performance in Wednesday’s loss to the Seattle Mariners still was the talk among Sox fans Thursday.
“Everybody loves to see accountability,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “No matter if it’s a player, a manager, a front office guy, a politician, whatever. Everyone likes to see someone stand up there and take responsibility. Tony is probably harder on Tony than anyone is in terms of being critical of his decision-making. So perhaps he’s putting a little too much at his own doorstep for (Wednesday’s) result. But it certainly is not a surprise given what I’ve come to know of him, that he’s standing up for what he believes in and is very critical of his own performance.”
Hahn said he doesn’t think La Russa needs any adjustment period after being out of the dugout since 2011.
“Initially, from the outside, thinking a guy has been away for however long, there’s going to be some time to get him reacclimated,” Hahn said. “But really after our first several conversations in the offseason, and certainly having spent six weeks with him in Arizona, I entered the season with no concerns along those lines whatsoever.”
— Paul Sullivan
2:43 p.m.: Connelly brothers are the first fans seated
On March 13, 2020, the three Connelly brothers from Riverside were at spring training in Glendale, Ariz., when word came that baseball would be shut down.
“We made a pact,” said 23-year-old Charlie. “As soon as baseball started again, we were all going to go to a Sox game on the first game back.”
The plan was waylaid when no fans were allowed inside ballparks last summer, but the Connelly brothers were undeterred. Looking online for tickets to the White Sox opener, they found three tickets in Section 132 behind home plate for $325 apiece. With no tailgating, they made a pregame trip to 35th Street Red Hots for a couple dogs, but still had room left for more sausage products inside the ballpark. When the gates to Sox Park opened, they were the first ones into their seats.
“Worth every penny,” said George, who is Charlie’s twin. “It’s great to be back home. Can’t wait to see Jose (Abreu) get his MVP.””
The Connellys were anxious to see how new manger Tony La Russa fared, believing he’s the missing ingredient for a team seemingly on the verge of big things. None of them were born when La Russa was fired by the Sox in 1986.
“We are all ‘Team Tony,'” said Henry, 25.
“Glad to have him back,” said George. “Nice to have someone with a few rings.”
“He’s a guy that can get us through August and September,” said Charlie. “La Russa has a baseball mind like no other.”
The Home Plate Shop, a souvenir stand in the lower concourse, was doing brisk business before the game. While there were plenty of jerseys with the names “Moncada,” “Anderson,” “Jimenez” and “Giolito,” there were none with La Russa’s name on the back. Will they have any in stick in the future?
“No, but you can get customized jerseys with any name on it,” a store employee said.
Fans at Guaranteed Rate Field were getting used to the new normal, which restricts access to areas around the park not near your seat. The water fountains were shut down due to COVID-19 protocols, so the only option was buying water from a concession stand. Security personnel said that in case of rain, fans could not hang out in seats beneath the underhang to stay dry. And if the concourses got too crowded, they would have to go huddle on the ramps.
The first churros of the new season were purchased by a lucky customer in the concourse, but not every stand was open and not all the food options are back. A concessionaire said they will not be selling tamales or elotes (grilled Mexican street corn) for the first few homestands.
“We’re going to see how it goes and hopefully bring them back in May,” he said.
Hot dogs and sausages were still popular, at $6.75 each.
— Paul Sullivan
2:15 p.m.: First pitch pushed back
The White Sox pushed back the start of today’s home opener at Guaranteed Rate Field. First pitch was scheduled for 3:10 p.m.
12:42 p.m.: Sox and Royals set lineups
Lance Lynn takes the mound as the White Sox play at Guaranteed Rate Field for the first time this season. Meanwhile Brad Keller pitches for the Royals.
Here are the lineups:
Sox
Eaton RF
Robert CF
Abreu 1B
Moncada 3B
Mercedes DH
Grandal C
Williams LF
Madrigal 2B
Mendick SS
Royals
Merrifield 2B
Benintendi LF
Santana 1B
Perez C
Soler DH
Dozier 3B
Isbel RF
Taylor CF
Lopez SS
12:33 p.m.: Sox announce three roster moves
The Sox placed outfielder Billy Hamilton on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring, purchased the contract of outfielder Nick Williams from the Schaumburg training facility and transferred left-hander Jace Fry to the 60-day injured list.
Hamilton suffered the injury Wednesday while stealing third base in the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners. He is 3-for-11 (.273) with one RBI in six games.
Williams, 27, hit .300 (12-for-40) with four doubles, one home run and two RBIs in 24 Cactus League games this spring.
Fry went on the injured list April 1 (retroactive to March 29) to continue his recovery from a microdiscectomy.
— LaMond Pope
11:36 a.m.: Rainy start to Thursday
Chicago is in the midst of some genuine April showers.
Rain is in the forecast all day, with a chance the wet weather will extend into Friday and the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago.
Thunderstorms are possible Thursday, especially in the late morning and early afternoon, with breezy winds and highs in the mid-low 60s across the region, the weather service said. Evening lows will scrape the mid-40s, when the chance for rain will remain about 50%.
If you’re headed to the White Sox’s home opener Thursday afternoon against Kansas City at Guaranteed Rate Field, bring a poncho.
“Showers will move through the area in the morning and there could be a lull in the rain around first pitch,” said Ricky Castro, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Chicago office. “But there could be scattered or isolated showers popping up during the game.”
— Charles J. Johnson
Pregame: Home opener on tap
The pitching matchup features the Sox’s Lance Lynn against the Royals’ Brad Keller. White Sox star shortstop Tim Anderson will not be in the lineup, however; he was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a strained left hamstring.
He’s the second impact player the Sox (3-4) will be missing as they try to bounce back from Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners. They already were without left fielder Eloy Jimenez, who is out five to six months with a ruptured left pectoral tendon.
The Sox and their fans hope the weather cooperates. The Thursday forecast: Mostly cloudy and 64 degrees at first pitch, with scattered showers and the chance of an isolated thunderstorm and south winds at 15-25 mph.
Small umbrellas and rain ponchos will be allowed inside the ballpark, but bags are not — with the exception of diaper bags, medical bags and small-clutch purses, according the White Sox. More details are available at whitesox.com/safety.
