There is plenty of blame to go around after the Chicago White Sox blew a 2-0 ALDS series lead, lost two straight at home and then got shut out in Game 5 (with an MLB postseason record 21 strikeouts in a nine-inning game and 75 total across the series). But the real reasons are obvious once you stop looking at the box scores and start looking at the vibes.
Here are the three biggest culprits in the White Sox’s ALDS collapse.
Ben Shapiro
The White Sox truly were one of the best stories in America. Then Ben Shapiro, the controversial and polarizing figure, felt the need to tweet about it to the entire internet.
On the day the Sox took a 2-0 lead, he posted: “The best thing happening in America right now is the Chicago White Sox. Just saying.”
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Fans immediately treated it like a curse. Nothing says “this team is ready for a deep October run” quite like a national political commentator randomly parachuting in to crown them. The Sox had spent the entire season being a fun, scrappy underdog nobody took seriously.
Then Shapiro showed up, put them on a pedestal, and the baseball gods immediately started writing the script. Next thing you know, Gavin Williams is punching out 12 guys in Game 5, José Ramírez is homering in consecutive games, and the offense is setting records for whiffing.
Coincidence? Probably. But I’m still blaming him. Shapiro’s longtime Sox fandom only makes it worse. He should have known better.
Scott Merkin
Then there’s MLB.com writer Scott Merkin, who teased a “big name” throwing out the first pitch in Game 3 and let everyone’s imaginations run wild.
“Sounds like a big name throwing out the first pitch for tomorrow’s game. No hints given, so have at it,” he posted ahead of Game 3.
Fans immediately started floating former presidents, the Pope, Michael Jordan, Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle and other 2005-era legends. The building was already electric for the franchise’s first home playoff game in years, with a chance to clinch a series in Chicago for the first time since 1906.
Instead, it was Belmont Cameli, the 28-year-old Naperville native and actor best known for playing Garrett Graham in the Prime Video hockey romance Off Campus. Talk about a letdown.
To be fair, Cameli is a legitimate Sox fan who previously turned down the Cubs for a first-pitch invite earlier in the season, screenshotting their DM and sending it to the South Side. He had also already thrown out a first pitch at the Crosstown Classic. You can’t blame him for accepting the White Sox’s offer to throw out the first pitch of a playoff game.
But after a full day of Pope-and-Obama speculation, the reveal landed like a thud. The letdown was immediate and complete. Nothing kills whatever momentum a team has left quite like building up a ceremonial first pitch that fans have to Google in real time. It was a small thing, but small things add up when you’re busy blowing a 2-0 lead.
The “Green Bay Sucks” Chants
Miguel Vargas was mic’d up in Game 3 and told third-base coach Justin Jirschele that he couldn’t wait for the “Green Bay sucks” chants. The fact that he knew the chants were going to come from White Sox fans is pure little-brother energy.
The White Sox were playing Cleveland in the ALDS. The Packers had nothing to do with any of it. Yet the chants still showed up, just like they’ve been showing up all season.
It’s one thing when you’re actually playing a Wisconsin team. It’s another when you’re shouting it in the middle of a playoff series against the Guardians at Rate Field. It just looks bad. After two decades of mostly getting our asses kicked by Green Bay, plus a couple of lucky wins last season, the constant need to remind everyone that “Green Bay sucks” makes it pretty clear they’re living rent-free in our heads.
Focus on the team in front of you. The Packers aren’t in the building—and neither was the offense once Williams took the mound in Game 5.
