Home Run Derby

The Chicago White Sox just won the 2008 AL Central Division crown by defeating the Minnesota Twins in a tiebreaking play-in game. 

The game was a thrilling 1-0 pitchers’ duel at US Cellular Field in Chicago, as White Sox pitcher John Danks gave up one less 460-foot longball than Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn did.

Allow me to introduce you to the MVP of the 2008 Chicago White Sox … you might think it’s Carlos Quentin, Alexei Ramirez, AJ Pierzynski, or Jim Thome (who homered tonight for the game’s only run) - but it’s not.

It’s the metal slug of currency that was used in the coin flip on September 12th to determine who would host a tiebreaking play-in game between the Twins and White Sox.

That thing should be attached to whatever banner the White Sox unfurl next year.  Because it’s what got them into the posteseason.

Since the White Sox won the coin flip … they got to host the 163rd game of the season.  And between these two otherwise equally matched teams this season … that pretty much meant the ballgame and the AL Central title. 

This season, the Twins and Sox both had equal records at home (good – .654) and on the road (bad – 432).  That disparity played out between the two clubs - neither could win at the other’s ballpark …

• The White Sox were 1-8 in Minnesota
• The Twins were 2-7 in Chicago

Make that 2-8.  Some things working against the Twins: 

• The 56 degree game temperature might have made a difference for the Twins, who play half their games in the always 72 degree climes of the indoor Metrodome. 
• The Twins speed on the basepaths might have been muddled a bit by the soft ground at US Cellular, where it rained for 3+ hours only 30 hours prior to tonight’s game. 
• Ground balls hit by the Twins wouldn’t ricochet off the US Cellular grass like they did off the concrete – I mean FieldTurf – at the Metrodome.

Because of this, you’re going to hear some people (Minnesotans) say that Home Field Advantage (HFA) for a 163rd game shouldn’t be decided by a 50/50 draw like the flip of a coin.  And they might be right – HFA could easily be determined by a number of more relevant tiebreakers, like Head-to-Head record (Minn wins 10-8) or Division record (tied 43-29).  But that’s not baseball’s way.

Now the White Sox move on to play the Tampa Bay Rays … who play in a Dome.  The White Sox crapped the bed this season in Domes … here’s some scary 2008 Dome stats for the ChiSox

• 5-17 Record
• .233 AVG, .295 OBA, .369 SLG
• 3.97 ERA

The White Sox party might be short lived.  Then again … they’ve got a lucky coin.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 at 11:26 pm and is filed under 2008 MLB Playoffs, Twins, White Sox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.