A Cubs Fan's Guide To Rooting For the White Sox In October

Image courtesy of Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Cubs Video

As the league prepares for the LCS in both the American League and National League, the Chicago Cubs are where they were since late Wednesday night of last week (and where they will be for the foreseeable future): not playing baseball. Of course, this is incredibly disappointing for a team that had two different ten-game winning streaks, scored the most runs in all of baseball, and employs the soon-to-be-named 2026 NL MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong.

But, if you watched the Cubs in September, who went 11-15 during the month, you cannot be surprised at all by the result. Overall, they were an offense first team that scraped by with a pitching staff that ranked toward the bottom of the league in nearly every statistical category. This was a team that scored over five runs once in the final week of the season and could not even manage to push more than two runners across the plate in each game during their final homestand against Miami. It is completely beyond my comprehension that they felt they deserved to pop champagne after the final home win of the year after they choked away the top seed in the Wild Card race and finished a colossal 14 games back of the Brewers. It was irrational to believe that the Cubs team we saw in September would walk into Petco Park and put up a decent fight against the hottest team in baseball. The Padres were the hungry wolf, and the Cubs were the sheep with two broken legs, and that is exactly how that series played out.

For the rest of October, there are two things Cubs fans can do: turn off baseball completely and put their faith in the hamstring of Caleb Williams, or root for the continuation of the best story in baseball on Saturday. Going into this season, the leading narratives were the Dodgers’ quest for a three-peat, Aaron Judge’s push for a third straight AL MVP, or even how a college coach would perform as an MLB manager with no professional experience. Nobody, outside of maybe the Bridgeport lifers, was anticipating a booming return to relevancy for the Chicago White Sox after three 100-loss seasons. Now, that team is set to go back to Cleveland to play in the only Game 5 of the divisional round, and Cubs fans should hope for another celebration from the visiting team at Progressive Field, ten years after the Cubs made history there.

Don’t get me wrong. There are reasons why a Cubs fan would not want to see the White Sox advance to their first ALCS since 2005. Maybe you are from the far northwest suburbs and not really a baseball fan, but you grew up being told you have to pick a side. Maybe you are from Davenport and a diehard Iowa Cubs fan, or from Knoxville and a Smokies season ticket holder that doesn’t know much about the major leagues outside of how the Cubs and the players you got to watch in the minors are performing. If you fall into one of those buckets, I understand, but I also feel sympathy for you because the 2026 White Sox are one of the most unusually fun teams we have seen in the sport in some time.

The White Sox are embracing the youth movement, which is something that Cubs fans should know to appreciate more than anyone, considering their World Series win on the backs of position players 26 and under. In comparison, the White Sox have six regular starters in the lineup 26 and under, which is the same amount as the 2016 Cubs. We saw the longball on full display on the South Side this year, with three players hitting over 30 home runs, something no other team can say for themselves this season. One of those guys is Japanese phenom Munetaka Murakami, who managed to make the White Sox Japan’s second favorite MLB team behind the Dodgers. With an interview like this, its impossible to be a baseball fan and not love this guy.

Also, remember the sad Miguel Vargas meme? Well, he isn’t sad anymore. He was the team leader in bWAR with 5.4 and smacked 33 bombs in what was the breakout season many thought he would never have after being moved from the Dodgers in the Michael Kopech trade. Then there’s Tristan Peters, a guy the Sox acquired from the Rays for cash considerations, and Sam Antonacci, a mid-ranked infield prospect, combining for 6.1 bWAR and joining top prospect Braden Montgomery in what could be one of baseball’s best outfields for years to come. The White Sox also employ a guy giving Nico Hoerner a run for his money as the best second baseman in Chicago–Chase Meidroth slashed .276/.350/.415 and finished fourth in bWAR at the position. Oh, and the White Sox aren’t paying any of these guys over $20 million a year.

No matter which Chicago team you cheer for, you have a right to have been upset by the pitching staff at various points of the season. As such, have to admit that what second year manager Will Venable is doing with the White Sox pitching staff is pretty damn impressive. The opener/bullpen game strategy has become a regular occurrence over the last few seasons, and the Cubs went with Andrew Kittredge as an opener in the 2026 NLWC, but the strategy the Sox are using is unheard of until now. This is a team that is fighting for the ALCS with only one real starting pitcher in Sean Burke. This is an all-hands-on-deck approach the likes of which we have never seen before. For the most part, it has worked in all their road playoff games so far. We will see if their undefined pitching staff has one more game of brilliance in them to propel them to Tampa Bay on Monday.

As a Chicagoan, this is good for the city. There is no other way to put it. If you love Chicago, no matter if you live in Pilsen, Gold Coast, Logan Square or up in Andersonville, there is a team with your city’s name on it looking to do something historic. If you want to be a bitter Cubs fan because your team fell flat on their face with a top-five payroll, an owner who seemingly cares more about Nashville-ifying Wrigleyville, and a GM who strives for 89 wins, then fine, go cheer for the Guardians or the Dodgers or whoever. If Anthony Rizzo can embrace what the Sox are doing, then you should too. It is great for the game, it is great for the city, and caring about October baseball is much better than not.