Chicago White Sox and the ongoing quest for mediocrity

For some teams, getting to .500 would be an accomplishment. For the Chicago White Sox, it is a way of life.

That has certainly been the case in 2022. They entered Saturday’s game at 63-63, a disappointing showing for a team expected to run away with the division. However, this is exactly what they had been all year, as the White Sox were 46-46 during the first half of the season and had been 17-17 since.

Everything in balance for the Chicago White Sox

The White Sox have been the type of team that Thanos would love throughout most of their franchise history. As pointed out by the CBS Sports Twitter account, the White Sox are 9014-9014 since August 16, 1906. That is a relatively impressive run of mediocrity.

Naturally, the White Sox have not been average during that entire time. All three of their championships have occurred since that date in August. At the same time, the White Sox also had seasons of abject misery mixed in. All in all, their 11 postseason appearances, with six trips to the World Series and three titles, is certainly respectable.

It is entirely possible that their run of mediocrity continues this year. The White Sox, for all of their talent, appear as though they are going to hover around the .500 mark until the end of the season. As it is, they have been no better than five games over, or five games under, all year.

The .500 mark is also not a terrible place in major league history. Only 12 teams are over .500 in the history of the league with the White Sox being one of them. Teams such as the Marlins, Rockies, and Phillies would love to have a .500 mark for their team history. For the White Sox, it is a symbol of who and what they are.

The Chicago White Sox had a .500 record heading into Saturday’s game. Considering that they had been .500 since August 1906, it is something they are familiar with.