Anderson Honors Eight Seasons in Chicago
Tim Anderson returned to Rate Field on Sept. 17 for a ceremony honoring his career with the Chicago White Sox, marking the end of his eight-year tenure with the organization. Before the event, Anderson stated that he was happy and at peace following his time in Chicago.
"It’s closing the door the way I wanted to and nobody else," Anderson said regarding the ceremony. The White Sox defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Sept. 17 during the game honoring Anderson.
White Sox Finish Regular Season and Clinch Postseason
The White Sox concluded their regular season with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, finishing with an 84-78 record. The team had previously clinched their first postseason berth since 2021 with a 9-1 win in Kansas City.
Cleveland secured the American League Central title, leaving Chicago as the No. 6 seed in the playoffs. A tweet from Just Baseball dated September 24, 2026, noted the White Sox record progression from 61-101 in 2023 to 82-77 in 2026, marking their first postseason appearance since 2021.
From Anderson’s ceremony through the regular-season finale, Chicago went 7-3. Munetaka Murakami hit a three-run homer in the first inning of the Sept. 17 game against Detroit. Eight days later, Murakami hit two home runs in a 6-1 win over Colorado, bringing his team-leading total to 35 home runs.
Wild Card Series Setup and Pitching Deployments
The White Sox will open a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT in Houston. Houston clinched the AL West on Sunday, setting up the series at Daikin Park with Game 1 on Tuesday and Game 2 on Wednesday.
Houston took five of seven games from Chicago during the regular season. Sean Burke started Friday, Davis Martin worked two-thirds of an inning Saturday, and Anthony Kay threw five innings Sunday in the final regular-season games.
Erick Fedde is considered the most natural rested option for Game 1, though manager Tony Venable has not announced how he plans to deploy his pitching staff. Anthony Kay finished the regular season with 158 innings, two short of the 160-inning threshold that would have triggered a $125,000 bonus. Sean Newcomb reached an incentive by throwing 90 innings during the finale to trigger a $100,000 bonus.