Miguel Vargas’ helmet flew off as he rounded first base in an all-out sprint to stretch his liner to center into a double Monday against the Royals.
The White Sox were up 6-0 in the fifth inning on a sparsely attended night at Rate Field in the waning days of August, which likely have the Sox en route to another last-place finish in the division, and potentially a third straight 100-loss season.
Sox fans might not have expected that kind of hustle over the past few miserable seasons on the South Side — let alone seeing it twice from a player in the same game. Vargas turned on the gas for another hustle double two innings later.
But it’s a competitive edge the Sox have shown more frequently with the catalyst Vargas near the top of the Sox’ batting order and at both corner infield spots.
“That’s the kind of leadership Vargie has for us,” manager Will Venable said. “These moments where you get to set the tone for the group. He’s excited to have those opportunities to do that for the club. That’s what progresses your group and raises the bar and the standard for your group.”
Vargas, who has emerged as the Sox’ most consistent first baseman, is hitting .235/.317/.401 on the year with 13 home runs and a team-leading 30 doubles.
He turned a smooth 3-6-3 double play in the Sox’ 5-4 loss to the Royals Tuesday, as the Sox’ bullpen blew seven innings of one-hit ball from starter Martin Perez. Vargas went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, while Colson Montgomery hit his 14th home run of the season and Luis Robert Jr. left the game with hamstring soreness.
But Vargas has helped power an improved Sox offense since the All-Star break, hitting .290/.379/.460 in the second half.
All along the way, the 25-year-old has established himself as a pillar of a rebuilding squad.
“From day one, he stuck out as someone that was gonna be a vocal leader in the clubhouse, and bring energy and his personality to the ballpark every day,” Venable said. “And then on the field, he really sticks out as a guy who understands the game, plays hard, and guys look to for energy and advice. Just somebody that has really developed into a leader.”
Fellow infielder Chase Meidroth said Vargas is the pace-setter “for a really good group right now that kind of has an identity of how we want to play the game.”
“He’s been great at leading that and going out there with a lot of energy every night. But he keeps it pretty loose in the clubhouse,” Meidroth said.
That’s not the description that might’ve been expected from the Vargas who looked at times looked dejected when he got to the South Side last summer after the trade that sent Michael Kopech to the Dodgers.
Vargas struggled mightily in his first 30 games with the Sox in their historically bad season, with a putrid .104/.217/.170 slash line to go with 41 strikeouts. That malaise at the plate bled into this season as Vargas flailed to a .217/.294/.304 start in April.
“Those struggles lasted probably longer than he wanted them to, but certainly the way he handled it and worked himself out of it was meaningful and that’s the kind of guy he is,” Venable said. “He’s gonna look these challenges right in the eye and do what he can do to be his best.”
Vargas’ rebound from the 2024 doldrums now has him comfortably penciled into the Sox’ 2026 plans, and maybe beyond.
“The way that Miguel’s wired, he uses that as fuel to not be in that situation again and just continue to be the best version of himself and develop into the player he believes he can be,” Venable said.