The White Sox played their last home game a week and a half ago.
They fended off the Rockies and were cheered for a successful regular season that resulted in their highest home attendance in four years (1.986 million). For a marquee MLB franchise, that figure might represent a crisis. But it was well above the threshold where the Sox felt supported.
‘‘The most simple way to put what is special about our club is the enthusiasm on the field,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘When you’re a player and there’s no one in the stands, you kind of question who you are. When you’re on the field and there’s a bunch of people there, that gives you confidence that you’re a good club that people are paying good money to come see.’’
But as the sixth seed in the American League playoffs, the Sox left town last week not knowing whether they would play in Chicago again this year. It was an irksome notion.
‘‘Our fans, they deserve baseball in October,’’ All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas said.
Vargas is one of the few players on hand who has observed the Sox’ progression from the losingest MLB team of all time in 2024 to a team a victory away from reaching the AL Championship Series next week. There has been enough turnover for this to feel like an entirely new project.
‘‘There is a big change in personnel; this is a very, very different team,’’ said right-hander Erick Fedde, who was also on the 2024 club. ‘‘A lot of new faces to create the success.’’
Surely, there has been a new crop of viewers drawn to a team that socked 211 home runs this season and produces at least one viral video clip per week. By and large, however, the Sox’ fan base simply has endured the wait for meaningful baseball.
For that reason, ensuring a home playoff game was a rallying cry for the Sox, something celebrated in the locker room in Houston after a sweep of the wild-card series.
‘‘We’re expecting the most rowdy crowd I’ve ever played before in my entire life,’’ said right-hander Sean Burke, who made his big-league debut in 2024.
With the Sox’ two victories in Cleveland, however, the scale of potential happenings this week at Rate Field has increased again.
The 2005 Sox clinched all three of their playoff-series victories, as well as their division title, on the road. When the 1959 Sox clinched the AL pennant, prompting Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Quinn to turn on the air-raid sirens, the team was in Cleveland. That might explain why so many people were startled. No Sox team has locked down the final victory of a playoff series in front of its home fans since the club won the World Series in 1906.
‘‘One hundred twenty years?’’ surprised reliever Grant Taylor said. ‘‘Maybe we can do it this year.’’
Maybe a historic release of fan energy is the key ingredient. By the admission of the players and coaches, the Sox have been more comfortable as an underdog than as a front-runner. A slate of road playoff games as the lower seed found them back in a comfortable mindset. They could use an extra jolt.
‘‘That is definitely true that we have a lot of comfort in being the underdog; that is the story of this club,’’ Venable said. ‘‘I don’t think any of it matters. We get to play a playoff game at home, and that’s all these guys are really thinking about.’’
While the 20-somethings on the roster might be light on their franchise history, they know the environment that awaits them doesn’t come easily or often.
‘‘This could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us,’’ outfielder Tristan Peters said. ‘‘You’ve got to be excited.’’