The Chicago White Sox are going back to October, and the way they got there is unlike anything Major League Baseball has ever seen. On Thursday, September 24, the White Sox clinched a 2026 postseason berth with a 9-1 rout of the Royals in Kansas City, capping a turnaround from three straight 100-loss seasons, including the modern-record 121 losses of 2024, to a playoff team with games to spare.
From 121 Losses to October Baseball
Just two years ago, the 2024 White Sox lost a modern-record 121 games. That was the middle of a brutal three-year stretch: 61-101 in 2023, 41-121 in 2024, and 60-102 in 2025. Three consecutive seasons of triple-digit losses would break most franchises. Instead, it became the setup for one of the great worst-to-first stories in recent memory. This is the club’s first playoff trip since 2021.
Under first-year manager Will Venable, the 2026 White Sox flipped the script, sitting at 72-64 in late August and playing meaningful games into the final week. As Venable put it, his group has “belief in themselves, belief in each other,” and it carried them further than anyone outside the clubhouse expected.
How They Clinched
The clincher was never in doubt. Miguel Vargas, fresh off AL Player of the Week honors, scored and drove in two runs; Kyle Teel launched his fifth home run of the year; Sam Antonacci reached base three times and scored three runs; and starter David Sandlin spun six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts. The 9-1 win secured an AL Wild Card berth and pulled Chicago within a half-game of Cleveland in the AL Central, so the division is still very much alive. “It means the world today,” said pitcher Davis Martin.
A First in MLB History
Here is the part that makes this special: no team had ever reached the playoffs immediately after three straight 100-loss seasons, until now. The White Sox are the first, turning what looked like a rebuild with no end in sight into a postseason run. For a fan base that sat through 121 losses in 2024, it is a stunning reward.
Follow the 2026 MLB Postseason
The White Sox are in as a Wild Card team, so here is everything you need to follow their run and the rest of October, with printable schedules and brackets:
Not sure how the seeding shakes out? Our 2026 MLB playoff tiebreaker rules guide breaks down every scenario.
What Is Next
Chicago still has a shot at the AL Central and could climb out of the Wild Card and into a division-series matchup with the days remaining. Either way, the White Sox are playing October baseball. Track the matchups, start times, and TV in our 2026 MLB postseason TV schedule, and grab a printable bracket from our MLB Wild Card Series page to follow along.
