CLEVELAND — You know that show “Stranger Things,” the sci-fi thriller on Netflix about terrifying aliens descending on a small town set in the ’80s? It was such the rage that a dozen major-league teams held “Stranger Things” theme nights last season.
This season, the White Sox joined in, hosting “Delightful Derek” (actor Jake Connelly) from the show’s fifth and final season to throw a ceremonial first pitch in April.
But the alien monsters from “Stranger Things” have nothing on the strange things that have happened on the South Side this season. I would’ve believed the existence of giant, walking flowers with razor-sharp teeth before believing these Sox could win a playoff series.
These Sox were coming off three consecutive seasons with more than 100 losses. These Sox didn’t have anything resembling an ace — still don’t, really — had question marks all over the diamond and were led by a second-year manager learning on the job.
Sox players began talking about making the playoffs in spring training, but talking about something and believing it are different. Outfielder Tristan Peters, perhaps the Sox’ most unlikely success story, needed a little bit of time to grasp what was happening.
“I didn’t know everybody super well right away,” said Peters, whom the Sox acquired from the Rays in December. “I’d say it was probably when we first took first place. I was like, ‘We can make the playoffs,’ the way we were playing.”
That was June 10 after a 2-1 victory over the Braves. The Sox beat the then-major-league leaders on consecutive nights and took a half-game lead over the Guardians, their opponents in the American League Division Series that starts Saturday off the shore of Lake Erie. That made Peters a believer.
Sam Antonacci believed it — hook, line and sinker — from the start. Ah, the innocence of youth.
“We knew we had the chance,” said Antonacci, who made his major-league debut in April. “It was just up to us. A lot of question marks had to be answered, obviously. And then just going out there and competing.”
But like this?
The Sox went into Daikin Park in Houston, a tough place to play in the postseason, and outplayed the Astros in two games. A team that had been hard to beat at home and had struggled on the road won a playoff series with nary a home game.
Yes, the Astros might’ve been the worst division champion ever. They certainly were record-wise, finishing 81-81. And their fans weren’t fully engaged, as evidenced by all those empty seats.
But still, the Sox aren’t “The Little Engine That Could” anymore. They’re a Hemi.
“We expect to win,” general manager Chris Getz said during the celebration Wednesday in Houston. “We can beat Cleveland. We’ve proven that we can. But they are definitely a team that’s been here before, and we respect them.”
And teams respect the Sox, which is strange considering how little there has been to respect. Did we mention they lost more than 100 games in three consecutive seasons, including a major-league-record 121 in 2024? Remember that misery? And now …
“I love watching their young guys play,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
So the kids can play again. That’s great, but I don’t think Sox fans want a repeat of that era.
The Sox introduced the slogan “The kids can play” in 1999 for a young, promising group. After the team finished in second place — a mere 21 ½ games behind Cleveland — the Sox used the slogan again in 2000, and that team won the division, finishing five games ahead of Cleveland.
But it fell flat in the ALDS against the Mariners, losing Games 1 and 2 at home and getting swept away in Seattle. (Never forget that Carlos Guillen’s foot was on the plate when he bunted home the winning run in Game 3.) The kids, it turned out, could not play in the playoffs, and a very different team won the World Series in 2005.
The point is, success can be fleeting. The Red Sox team that won all six meetings against the White Sox this season isn’t playing anymore. The Yankees humiliated the Carmines in the wild-card round, and now they’re all griping about what went wrong. It can happen that fast.
These Sox are good, and they have just as good a chance to win this series as the Guardians do. There’s nothing to marvel at anymore. There’s nothing charming about them. They’re not just happy to be here. They’re legit.
And that’s the strangest thing of all.
