Say It's So

Asked why he would give up three of his top minor-league prospects for pitcher Freddy Garcia, Ken Williams answered with two numbers--nineteen-seventeen. The White Sox general manager wasn't referring to the score of that day's game against the Cubs, but rather to the last year in which the White Sox had won the World Series. Heck, this was an organization that had thrown one since it last won one, making its stamp on baseball history with the 1919 "Black Sox" gambling scandal. The White Sox had been back to the World Series only once since then, with the Go-Go Sox losing in 1959. This was the history that Williams and his manager, Ozzie Guillen, a fan favorite from his playing days, were trying to change. They rebuilt their roster--looking for more pitching, speed, and better fielding after years of trying to bully the opposition--and caught fire, building a 15-game lead on August 1. They would watch all but 1 1/2 games of the lead leak away, but rediscover themselves in time to construct the greatest run through October in history. The White Sox got breaks and took advantage of every one of them. They won 16 of their last 17 games, including 11 of 12 in the playoffs, and outscored the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, and Houston Astros by 33 runs, the biggest run differential in playoff history. This is the story of 25 players and a cynical city that couldn't believe its eyes while watching them.