How the White Sox impacted October: Hidden ways the worst team in modern history changed MLB's playoff picture

Chicago's historically bad season has dramatically benefited a few playoff contenders

Barring a perfect 6-0 record this week, the Chicago White Sox will set the modern record for losses in a season. They lost their 120th game Sunday, tying the record held by the 1962 New York Mets (40-120-1). Never before in modern history has a team lost this many games, and the White Sox don't have the expansion excuse to fall back on like the '62 Mets. What a wretched season.

Last year, MLB changed the schedule format, specifically cutting back on division games and having every team play every team in the other league each season. No longer does interleague play rotate divisions. It's a good thing for baseball overall -- why should AL fans have to wait three years to see Shohei Ohtani come through? -- though it has taken a small bite out of division rivalries.

Still, teams play more games within their division than they do against all other teams, so the other four AL Central teams have had a chance to fatten up against the White Sox this year. Here's how those four clubs have fared against Chicago:

• Kansas City Royals: 12-1 vs. White Sox
• Minnesota Twins: 12-1
• Detroit Tigers: 9-1
• Cleveland Guardians: 8-5

Oof, Guardians. They were 5-5 against the White Sox before sweeping them earlier this month. Going merely 8-5 against Chicago didn't hurt Cleveland too much though. They've already clinched the AL Central and have a chance to finish with the league's best record, or at least finish as the No. 2 seed and secure a Wild Card Series bye.

The Royals and Twins both going 12-1 against the White Sox sure is having an impact on the wild-card race though. Those two teams currently sit in the No. 5 and 7 seeds, respectively, just ahead of the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox. Here are the wild-card standings entering play Tuesday:

1. Baltimore Orioles: 86-70 (+4 GB)
2. Kansas City Royals: 82-70
3. Detroit Tigers: 82-70
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4. Minnesota Twins: 81-70 (1 GB)
5. Seattle Mariners: 81-76 (1.5 GB)
6. Boston Red Sox: 79-78 (3.5 GB)
7. Tampa Bay Rays: 78-78 (4 GB)

Ultimately, you can only play the schedule you're given, and the Royals and Twins (and Tigers) are not at fault for the White Sox being so bad. A few years ago, the Orioles were a laughing stock and the other AL East teams beefed up their records against them. Same with the AL West and the Houston Astros during their hard-tanking years from 2011-13.

With that in mind, here's a look at how the White Sox have impacted this year's postseason races.

AL wild-card standings minus White Sox

The Twins are 12-1 against the ChiSox, which means they're 69-74 against all other teams. The Royals are 70-73 against non-White Sox teams. Again, you can only play the schedule you're given, and credit to those teams for beating up on a historically bad opponent. Those White Sox wins have altered the wild-card landscape though.

Here's what the AL wild-card standings would look like if you removed all games against the White Sox:

The Tigers would be the third wild-card team over the Mariners and Red Sox because they won the head-to-head series against those two teams, and would come out ahead in the three-team tiebreaker. In the past, we would have gotten a fun little tiebreaker mini-tournament to decide the No. 6 seed. Now are ties are broken mathematically, which is objectively lame.

Anyway, because they beat up on the White Sox, the Royals and Twins are right in the wild-card mix rather than several games out. And, because they were unable to capitalize against a historically bad opponent, the Rays and Red Sox will miss the postseason. Go 4-2 against the White Sox instead of 2-4, and Tampa's right there with the Twins, knocking on the wild-card door.

This is not meant to discredit the Royals and Twins. The schedule afforded them an opportunity this year and they really, really took advantage. Going 12-1 against any single opponent, even a historically terrible one like the 2024 White Sox, is above and beyond. The Rays in particular blew their chance against Chicago. The Royals and Twins didn't, and it's making a difference.

The NL wild-card race has been impacted too

Thanks to the new schedule, every National League team except the Chicago Cubs played a three-game series against the White Sox this year. The Cubs played four games against the ChiSox as geographic rivals and went 4-0. Surprisingly, the White Sox won the season series against four NL teams: Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Washington Nationals.

The Cardinals, Nationals, and Rockies have already been eliminated from postseason contention. The Braves, though, are 1 1/2 games behind the third wild-card spot, and going 1-2 against the White Sox rather than 2-1 (like the Arizona Diamondbacks) or 3-0 (like the Mets) is the kind of thing that will leave you kicking yourself if you fall a game short of a postseason berth. 

The Braves and White Sox played their series early in the season. Well, partially. It was supposed to be a three-game series from April 1-3, but the April 3 game was rained/snowed out, and made up on June 27. Excruciatingly, Atlanta's two losses to the White Sox were one-run games:

• April 1: ATL 9, CWS 0 (box score)
• April 2: CWS 3, ATL 2 (box score)
• June 27: CWS 1, ATL 0 (box score)

A 1-0 loss? To the White Sox? Ouch. It came in a Chris Sale start too, during which he struck out 11 in seven innings. Chicago is 4-68 when scoring two or fewer runs this season and one of the four wins came against Atlanta. If the Braves miss the postseason by one game, they will have no one to blame but themselves. Two one-run losses to the White Sox games will have been the difference.

The White Sox have one more important series left

You may have noticed earlier the Tigers are merely 9-1 against the White Sox while the other three AL Central teams have already played their full allotment of 13 games against Chicago. That's because the Tigers still have a series left with the ChiSox, specifically a three-gamer at Comerica Park this weekend. That's the final series of the regular season.

No wins are guaranteed in this league. Any team can beat any other team on any given night in this game. But good gravy, wouldn't you rather play your final series against the White Sox than, say, the Orioles (like the Twins will do) or the Braves (like the Royals will do)? I know I would. The Tigers are a game up on a wild-card spot with six games remaining, including three against the worst team maybe ever. The schedule favors Detroit. Now they just need to take care of business and bank those wins.