The Regular season of MLB came to an end last month some would say that for the White Sox it did so mercifully. I would beg to differ.
Me (In my best Dickensonian pauper's voice) : Please Sir, may I differ? Please?!? Could I kindly differ?
When you lose 100 or more games in a season 3 years in a row as my beloved South Sliders (misspelling intended) have it would ostensibly make sense for anyone covering the team to write an end of the season review as a post-mortem. Over the past few weeks I have read many that looked just like that,
However, as I mulled it over in my mind, I realized that the 2025 record of 60 wins paired with 102 losses , an abysmal 21 games below .500, was in actuality 19 wins better than their record setting (in a bad way) 2024 season total. This made me wonder how the White Sox would match up to the rest of the league in terms of most improved win total from 2024 to 2025.
2025 MLB Teams (Listed from most improved to least improved regular season from 2024 to 2025)
Team 2024 2025
1. Toronto Blue Jays 74-88 94-68 +20
2. Chicago White Sox 41-121 60-102 +19
3. Miami Marlins 62-100 79-83 +17
4. Los Angeles Angels 63-99 72-90 +9
5. Chicago Cubs 83-79 92-70 +9
6. Boston Red Sox 81-81 89-73 +8
7. Athletics 69-93 76-87 +7
8. Cincinnati Reds 77-85 83-79 +6
9. Seattle Mariners 85-77 90-72 +5
10. Milwaukee Brewers 93-69 97-65 +4
11. Texas Rangers 78-84 81-81 +3
12. Detroit Tigers 86-76 87-75 +1
13. Philadelphia Phillies 95-67 96-66 +1
14. San Francisco Giants 80-82 81-81 +1
15. New York Yankees 94-68 94-68 E
16. Houston Astros 88-73 87-75 -1.5
17. Tampa Bay Rays 80-82 77-85 -3
18. San Diego Padres 93-69 90-72 -3
19. Kansas City Royals 86-76 82-80 -4
20. Cleveland Guardians 92-69 83-74 -4.5
21. Washington Nationals 71-91 66-96 -5
22. St. Louis Cardinals 83=79 78-84 -5
23. Pittsburgh Pirates 76-86 71-91 -5
24. Los Angeles Dodgers 98-64 93-69 -5
25. New York Mets 89-73 83-79 -6
26. Arizona Diamondbacks 89-73 80-82 -9
27. Minnesota Twins 82-80 70-92 -12
28. Atlanta Braves 89-73 76-86 -13
29. Baltimore Orioles 91-71 75-87 -16
30. Colorado Rockies 61-101 43-119 -18
Analysis: I marked each record in bold if that team went to the playoffs the year listed. Of the 7 teams that made the playoffs in 2024 and 2025, three did so with more wins than the previous year, 1 team had the identical record each campaign, and 3 won more games in 2024 than they did this year.
Of the 3 cities with 2 teams , Chicago was the only city that had both teams improve let alone be in the top 5 of improved teams.
Top 10 most improved home and road teams. (Teams in bold are in tp 10 in both categories)
Home Road
Blue Jays +15 White Sox +9
Red Sox + 10 Athletics +9
White Sox + 10 Marlins +9
Marlins + 8 Blue Jays +5
Angels +7 Mariners +3
Padres +7 Mets +3
Yankees +6 Cubs +3
Cubs + 6 Angels +2
Reds + 6 Guardians +1
Brewers +5 Nationals +1
Pirates + 5 Giants + 1
So, yes the improvements from one year to the next for our Chicago teams is something to be celebrated. Similar improvements next year are not impossible dreams. If The Cubs improve by 9 wins next year they would be past the 100 win mark. If the Sox win 19 more games next year they would only finish 2 games below .500. Will that happen, who knows? But steps in the right direction are signs of life not cause for a post-mortem.
