White Sox fans, does it get any better than this? Just saying — it might not

As the start of Game 4 of the White Sox’ American League Division Series against the Guardians neared Thursday at Rate Field, one had to wonder:

Does it get any better than this?

No, really, though. Does it?

Because even for the young, ascendant Sox, it might not. Come to think of it, especially for the Sox, it might not..

Something that has gotten lost in the Sox’ sudden, startling success this season is just how fragile the whole thing was from the beginning. The Sox played in what was, undeniably, a bad division. They played in the lesser of the two leagues, the balance of power as off as ever. They got the Astros, the worst full-season division champion by record in major-league history, in the wild-card round and the Guardians, the lowest-spending team in the AL, after that. Suffice it to say, the Sox, as surprisingly good as they were, didn’t need any miracles to reach this point.

And, by the way, fragile still can be quite beautiful. A 40,000-strong ‘‘Blackout’’ on the South Side in October, with all the excitement, hope and catharsis therein, more than qualifies.

But a dangerous uncertainty loomed for the Sox in more ways than one.

First, getting past the Guardians — no easy feat — would necessitate taking a giant step up in weight class for an AL Championship Series against the 98-victory Rays, who swept the Yankees in the divisional round. One way to look at the Rays is that they’re everything the Sox aspire to be: a high-achieving, thoroughly professional outfit with no significant weaknesses, aside from an inclination to spend modestly. Offensively, the Rays are the cream of the AL crop at getting on base, hitting for average and not striking out. Their starting pitching allowed the fewest walks and hits per inning in the AL. Beat this team in a best-of-seven? The Sox might need luck just to steal a game or two.

But the very real threat of a bitterly contentious MLB lockout hovers over the 2027 season, a critical one for the Sox if they are to build on this momentum. There also are questions relating to future ownership arrangements and stadium possibilities, though these factors seemingly aren’t as pressing.

And then there’s the simple, nagging possibility that the Sox won’t be better next season or that their ‘‘better’’ won’t be good enough to carry them this far.

It’s a movie Sox fans have seen before.

Go back to October 2021. The young, talented Sox had ripped off 93 victories for their first winning record in a full season since 2012. Even after they lost to the Astros in a four-game ALDS, hopes were high for a continued ascent.

‘‘We’re going to keep growing,’’ Gavin Sheets said after homering for the Sox’ only run of Game 4 at the Rate.

‘‘We have more work to do,’’ manager Tony La Russa promised.

Cue an 81-81 clunker that ran the train right off the rails.

The 2008 Sox fought through injuries in an 89-victory roller-coaster ride, and they, too, made it as far as Game 4 of the divisional round before being eliminated by the Rays at what then was called U.S. Cellular Field.

‘‘Am I satisfied? No,’’ manager Ozzie Guillen said. ‘‘I want to be in it longer [next season].’’

Then came a tumble to below .500 in 2009.

The 2005 world champion Sox missed the playoffs the next season, and their record was 72-90 by 2007.

Ninety-five victories in 2000 became a mere 83 in 2001.

Everyone who watched the early-1990s Sox rise still can taste the bitterness of the 1994 labor stoppage that killed the season, taking a prime World Series shot with it.

And maybe the best example of all: the breakthrough Sox of 1983, who won 99 games and brought postseason baseball to the South Side for the first time since 1959, only to ride off the cliff at 74-88 in 1984. At the All-Star break in ’84, the Sox actually led the AL West. From there, it was nothing but momentum-killing, goodwill-killing disaster.

You just don’t know what’s going to happen, as Sox manager Will Venable explained to the Sun-Times last month, citing his time as associate manager of the Rangers in 2023, when they won it all, and in 2024, when they were just another losing team.

‘‘I don’t think that we can make the assumption that this is going to exist next year,’’ Venable told beat writer James Fegan. ‘‘I’m hopeful because it’s going to be a lot of the same guys, but DNA changes. I saw it in Texas. Got this amazing group of guys, win a World Series, have success. Offseason maybe looks a little different. Guys are in different situations, whatever. Personal stuff happens. Next year, you’re trying to create the magic, and it’s hard to do.’’

So enjoy this Sox ride, come what may.

Does it get any better?

One does have to wonder.