MINNEAPOLIS — Sean Burke was feeling good after the White Sox’ comeback victory Sunday at Rate Field against the Tigers. Though he was dealing with a lingering cold, his mental state overcame it.
“I should pitch sick more often,” he joked after throwing 5⅓ strong innings.
It was that state of mind that led Burke to share what he said later:
“I wake up every day, ‘Thank God I get to play for the Chicago White Sox.’ ”
On social media, where snarky comments are encouraged, that quote, unattributed, surely would’ve been followed by, “Said no one ever.”
But a burgeoning Sox starter said it, unprompted. He said it with a smile, giving a hint of being lighthearted, as when he suggested he should pitch sick. Still, he said it. On the record. For all to hear.
What made him say that?
“I meant that, but I kinda said it originally half-joking,” Burke told the Sun-Times on Monday. “I just have a really great appreciation for this group and the way we’re playing, the way everybody has bought into what we’re doing. Everybody’s playing hard; everybody’s playing the right way.”
Call it corny, but there is something special about this group. Its majority is young players who don’t know what they don’t know. But it also has a segment of veterans, and they sense a unique quality about the team’s togetherness.
“Grich told me day one, he’s like, ‘Man, this team’s something else,’ ” Burke said of Randal Grichuk, a 13-year vet who joined the Sox on May 4.
So what did Grichuk notice?
“It’s young, it’s energetic, it’s immature — not in a negative way,” Grichuk told the Sun-Times. “I actually talked to a couple guys [Sunday], because I wasn’t starting, on the bench, and they were both like, ‘I am genuinely excited and happy to wake up and come here and work.’ It’s good friends, it’s good vibes.”
Grichuk is playing for his eighth major-league team and sixth in four seasons. He played in 16 games for the Yankees this season before being released May 1. He’s as qualified as anyone to talk about clubhouse camaraderie, and he called the Sox’ situation “rare.”
“There’s definitely less cliques, more overall bonding here,” Grichuk said. “Most teams you have the bullpen, the starters, the young guys, the old guys all in their little cliques. But here, [the older guys] fit in well, and it’s great. It’s hard to put into words because I’ve not seen much like it, honestly.”
Burke appreciates those veterans, including Grichuk, Andrew Benintendi and Seranthony Dominguez, for accepting and accommodating the younger players.
“They understand it’s a younger team, and they enjoy how we’re playing,” Burke said. “There’s no walking on eggshells or anything like that. Younger guys coming in, they’re a little bit intimidated by an older clubhouse. But everybody from the top down has been doing a pretty good job of making everybody play free and relaxed.”
“I want to feel like they look at me as one of the boys,” Grichuk said, “not as I looked at some of the vets when I came up. You didn’t talk to them, you didn’t bother them.
“I’m not naming names, but one guy was giving me some jabs the other day, and a few other guys were like, ‘Uh oh.’ I laughed it off, and I said I’ll pay that back later. It’s fun, and it’s light. I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far.”
Burke’s “Thank God” quote drew a big smile from Sox general manager Chris Getz, who said he has heard and seen that sentiment in the clubhouse himself.
“It’s gratitude. It’s organic,” Getz told the Sun-Times. “He’s excited to come to work.”
By the sound of it, he isn’t the only one.