For any MLB team, a bases-loaded defensive back collision is an embarrassing blunder. For the Chicago White Sox, it’s just another game in what’s shaping up to be the worst season in MLB history.
The shame hit again Tuesday in Chicago’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. The situation: bases loaded with two outs in the second inning, with the Orioles already up 4-0. The batter: Eloy Jiménez, once a mainstay of the White Sox’ future, now just an outfielder they traded away as a mercenary.
The play: an easy fly ball to shallow left field. The outcome: a black eye, both figuratively and literally.
White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas, shortstop Jacob Amaya and left fielder Andrew Benintendi all came for the ball. In these cases, it’s usually the outfielder’s ball, but Vargas seemed to think he had it. Until he ran face first into Benintendi’s shoulder.
7-0 Orioles. As their announcer Kevin Brown said, “Oh my God, the White Sox just went totally White Sox.”
The pain didn’t stop there for Chicago. Vargas stayed in the game despite being clearly shaken, but later exited with a noticeable black eye. The White Sox announced that he left with a graze to his right eye and was being evaluated.
The whole thing is a ridiculously bad play for a ridiculously bad team led by a ridiculously bad owner, and yet it gets worse the closer you look.
A Deeper Dive Into the Chicago White Sox
For example, Vargas getting hurt is especially bad because he was one of the young players acquired during the MLB trade deadline, when the White Sox decided to get even worse this year to offer more hope for the future. That move took Vargas away from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the current owners of the best record in MLB, and landed him in Chicago, where he entered Tuesday with a .122/.240/.195 batting average in 25 games.
In exchange for Vargas, the White Sox sent Michael Kopech back to LA as part of a three-team trade. Kopech had a 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings with Chicago this year. He has a 0.63 ERA in 14 1/3 innings with the Dodgers.
Jimenez, another player the White Sox dismissed, entered Tuesday batting .284/.321/.392 for the Orioles after hitting .240/.297/.345 for the White Sox.
And let’s not forget that Benintendi, who is batting .218/.279/.375, is in the second year of a five-year, $75 million contract, the most guaranteed money Reinsdorf and the White Sox have ever given a player.
What you just saw was a hitter who did much better after leaving the White Sox. His easy ball was ruined by a young player whose numbers have plummeted since joining the White Sox, as he faced the most expensive player in White Sox history. This put him even further behind an Orioles team that, like the White Sox, was a complete failure a few years ago and is now gunning for the playoffs.
The White Sox, who have already fired manager Pedro Grifol, were eliminated from the MLB postseason earlier than any other team in history and set a team record for single-season losses, still have plenty of history-making to do. They entered Tuesday on an 11-game losing streak after having already snapped streaks of 21 and 14 games, and need just 13 more losses in their next 23 games to break the New York Mets’ record for single-season losses set in 1962.
