5 biggest mistakes that doomed the White Sox in 2022 and why

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 12: Tony La Russa #22 of the Chicago White Sox walks to the dugout during the seventh inning of game one of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 12, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images) /

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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 09: AJ Pollock #18 of the Chicago White Sox bats against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the fifth inning at RingCentral Coliseum on September 09, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

4. The White Sox defense was atrocious, especially in the outfield

As they say, defense and pitching win ballgames and the White Sox have had an atrocious defense all season long.

As a team, they have -32 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and -16 Outs Above Average (OAA), which is 26th and 25th in the sport.

Some of this was to be expected. They were 28th and 18th in DRS and OAA last season … but the White Sox did little to nothing to improve that with their moves in the offseason and/or at the trade deadline.

A lot of their troubles this year came in the outfield as -20 DRS and -16 OAA came from them. Among outfield defenses, those are each 27th in the sport.

The White Sox pitching staff also has one of the highest flyball rates in the sport (ninth-highest). Having that and one of the worst outfields defensively do not make for a good combination.

This leads to their third biggest mistake …

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