By Evie Mason
Medill Reports
The season is now underway for Major League Baseball, and Chicago fans were both excited and frustrated during spring training as one team seems to be on the rise, while the other is stagnating.
Cubs fans haven’t tasted sweet victory since their 2016 World Series win.
[Radio call of 2016 World Series win]
On the South Side, the White Sox haven’t won anything in 20 years.
[Radio call of 2005 White Sox win]
[Restaurant ambient sounds]
David O’Keefe is a lifelong Sox fan. He’s a regular at George’s Gyros here in Bridgeport, where he’s lived his whole life.
O’KEEFE: In many senses last year, they were winning the game, and they always found a way to lose. And this year don’t look any better. I’m 60 years old, and I’ve been going to Sox games since I was a little kid. I found myself last year not even bothering going to a game.
The White Sox were plain terrible last year — a record-setting 121 losses attest to that. Though some changes are being made, expectations for this upcoming season remain pretty low.
Well-known Chicago sports journalist Cheryl Raye-Stout knows what’s up with the team. She says they have a lot of good rookie prospects, including two of the top pitchers in the minor leagues, Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz. They’ve also got some new leadership.
RAYE-STOUT: They have a new manager in Will Venable, a former player. He’s got this resume that the players seem to respect and honor.
Raye-Stout says the Sox most likely aren’t going to see many more wins in 2025.
RAYE-STOUT: The White Sox, they’re not going to spend the money. They’re putting their money into their front office people. And the fans, you know, they’re upset. The White Sox fans are upset because the team was horrible last year. And just a few years ago, they were a team that looked like they were going to be in the playoffs.
Guaranteed Rate Field saw its most drastic drop in overall attendance this past year. Fans like O’Keefe are really at the point of just not going to games.
O’KEEFE: How am I going to support a team when you just pretty much feel that they’re going to lose anyway? I have grandchildren — we’re spending $300 to go to a game, to watch them lose? I could stay home and do that.
Now, let’s get to the Cubs. Cubs fans do in fact have a reason to be optimistic right now. They’ve made some big changes and have picked up several talented players. They’re actually expected to win the National League Central Division this year.
RAYE-STOUT: With the Cubs, they’ve made some big changes. They got Kyle Tucker from Houston. They picked up a nice catcher in Carson Kelly. They signed Ryan Pressly. So they did some nice things. Also, some of their young players — Pete Crow-Armstrong is really going to be an impactful player. And with the other players having some health, because there were some health issues, they picked up Justin Turner. So, they’ve got some good pieces there, and they’re expected to be better — they’re expected to win the division.
[Store ambient sounds]
Mayra Cisneros works at the Chicago Sports and Novelty store on Michigan Avenue. She says that Cubs merch sells much more than White Sox merch.
CISNEROS: It’s a big difference, just because of the history. The Cubs are one of the oldest, if not the oldest, team from Chicago, and then the Sox came after. Our main team is the Cubs.
As a Cubs fan, she sees the improvements the team has been making and is confident they will come to fruition as early as this upcoming season.
Cisneros says she has high hopes that the Cubs will at least make the playoffs in 2025. The White Sox probably won’t be as lucky, though. Those 121 losses still sting.
Evie Mason, Medill Reports.
Evie Mason is a graduate journalism student in the sports media specialization at Northwestern’s Medill School. She currently lives in Chicago. You can follow her on X at @eviesmason.
