This might rub some Cubs fans the wrong way, but Cubs players are rooting for the White Sox — reliever Colin Rea, in particular.
“I’m rooting for them because I think it would be cool to be Cubs-White Sox in the World Series,” Rea told the Sun-Times.
No doubt, that would be cool. Of course, the Cubs would need to get there, too. But Rea also appreciates the way the Sox play.
“They play the game hard, and they do a lot of good things,” he said. “And they’ve turned things around quickly.”
Indeed, the Sox are looking to become the first team in major-league history to reach the postseason after losing 100-plus games in the three previous seasons, as well as the first to win its division after a 100-loss season. The Sox fell out of first place Wednesday with a 6-3 loss to the Guardians but are in wild-card position.
“I was watching that game today,” Rea said. “That was tough.”
He also was watching Saturday night in the ninth inning, when Randal Grichuk hit a two-strike, two-out pitch for a go-ahead two-run homer that gave the Sox a much-needed victory against the Cardinals.
“He did a good job where he kind of got beat by it, but he backspun it perfectly,” Rea said. “And then the right fielder almost caught it, too. It’s cool to watch moments like that.
“I turned it on in the eighth, so I turned it on at the perfect time.”
Rea is a baseball fan off the field, and watching games and highlights is part of his routine, especially when his children — ages 9, 7, 5 and 3 — are in town.
“As soon as we get home from the field, it’s turn the game on, and we watch all the highlights,” he said. “They love it.”
And Rea has a fondness for the Sox. He played with Sox manager Will Venable in 2015 with the Padres, he worked with Sox bench coach Walker McKinven with the Brewers and he’s good friends with Sox reliever Bryan Hudson, with whom he played in Milwaukee.
“I’m rooting for them,” Rea said.