Top 5 White Sox moments for 2021

Tim Anderson

What's a new year without a list recapping the year that just ended, right? And with the Major League Baseball lockout droning on with no end in sight, we don't have much else to discuss.

So, let's ring in 2022 by looking back at my five favorite White Sox moments of 2021. Let me know if I've missed anything important:

5. Jose Abreu's mad dash to the plate: Maybe I remember this one more than most people because I was at this game, but it might have been the single most exciting play of the season that wasn't a home run. The Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to rally for a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. The fourth and game-winning run was scored with two outs, when Abreu dashed down the line from third base on a very short wild pitch by Kansas City reliever Wade Davis. Abreu somehow got around the tag of Royals catcher Cam Gallagher, hitting his hand on the plate as he slid by. After a lengthy video review, the call on the field was confirmed: safe. The whole thing was so improbable, because when Abreu took off, it looks as if he would be out by 10 feet. 

4. Brian Goodwin's bat flip for the ages: The second-place Cleveland Indians came to Chicago on July 30 trailing the Sox by eight games in the American League Central Division. There was a feeling the Indians needed to take two out of three -- if not sweep -- in order to have a legitimate chance to make the Central a race. The teams split the first two games, and the Sunday finale was a tight affair throughout. The score was 1-1 going into the ninth inning, and Goodwin won the game for the Sox with a solo home run off Cleveland reliever Nick Wittgren. Goodwin punctuated his blast by flipping his bat toward the Cleveland dugout, about 30 feet up in the air. That was Aug. 1, and the Sox had a nine-game lead. This was the moment where you felt the Sox had the division in hand -- for me, it was more enjoyable than the day the Sox clinched, because September was a foregone conclusion. 

3. Leury Garcia's home run in Game 3 of the ALDS: Some people might have this as their best moment of the season -- especially if they were lucky enough to be at this game, which I was. The Sox, of course, had lost the first two games of the series against the Houston Astros, and they were facing elimination. There was definitely a feeling of impending doom at Guaranteed Rate Field after the Astros jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the third inning of Game 3. But the Sox responded with five runs in the bottom of the third, capped by an improbable 3-run homer to deep center field by Garcia. The blast gave the Sox a 6-5 lead, and they survived for one more game by securing a 12-6 victory. When Garcia's ball left the park, that was the loudest I've ever heard the ballpark (note, I did not attend 2005 World Series Game 2). And I've never seen so much high-priced beer flying through the air during a home run celebration. Of course, Game 3 would be the last Sox victory of 2021. They lost the series in four games. Had that home run actually flipped the outcome of the series, this would be higher on my list.

2. Carlos Rodon pitches a no-hitter: I'll be honest -- I didn't really want Rodon back on the Sox after watching him labor through four consecutive injury-plagued seasons. But the veteran left-hander quickly quieted me and other critics by getting the 2021 season off to a great start. Rodon pitched a no-hitter in his second start of the season, April 14 against the Cleveland Indians. And frankly, this was really damn close to being a perfect game. Rodon retired the first 25 batters he faced before hitting Cleveland catcher Roberto Perez in the toe with a back-foot slider with one out in the top of the ninth. That spoiled the perfect game, before Rodon recovered to retire the next two batters and secure the no-hitter and an 8-0 victory. Injuries once again hindered Rodon the second half of the season, but I don't think any Sox fan can complain about the 24 starts he made in 2021. Rodon went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA, made the All-Star team and provided fans with one of the most memorable performances of the entire season on a chilly night in April.

1. Tim Anderson walks it off in the Field of Dreams Game: If there's a single moment from the 2021 White Sox season that everyone will remember, it's got to be this, right? The Field of Dreams Game was the most-watched baseball telecast in 15 years, and the heavyweight fight between the Sox and the New York Yankees did not disappoint. The Yankees scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning off Liam Hendriks to turn a 7-4 Sox lead into an 8-7 deficit. It looked as if the Sox were going to suffer one of their most frustrating losses of the season in the most high profile of games. But Anderson changed the narrative. After Seby Zavala took a walk, Anderson drove a pitch from New York's Zach Britton over the fence in right field and into the corn for a two-run homer to give the Sox an improbable 9-8 victory. It was kind of funny that Anderson was on the record as not having seen the movie "Field of Dreams," yet he ended up being the hero and providing the signature moment of the game. MLB is doing another such game next season -- it will feature the Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds. Good luck duplicating the drama and excitement from this Sox-Yankees matchup.