After 56 years, what's one more day?
The Brewers' 12th-inning slip in Game 4 didn't end up mattering in the end, because the thousands of fans who made Tropicana Field feel like Milwaukee South were ultimately rewarded with a World Series-clinching victory in Game 5 for the franchise's first championship in a history that dates back to 1969 in Seattle, and 1970 in Milwaukee.
The Brewers left little doubt about the best team in the league, what with their 103 regular-season wins and an 11-2 run in the postseason. You seldom hear the kind of praise Drew Rasmussen issued from the Tampa Bay locker room...
Drew Rasmussen after losing Game 5, "they are the best team I've ever played." pic.twitter.com/jmyIM4PwHj
— Aileen Hnatiuk (@AileenHnatiuk) October 29, 2026
... so while it would've been nice for the White Sox to win one of their final three games against the Cleveland Guardians, the end result felt pretty convincing regardless of whatever American League opponent the Brew Crew drew.
The victory means that the offseason begins today, and the dates of the calendar are officially set, at least as far as it can go before an expected lockout brings most activity crashing to a halt. Here's a rundown of notable dates, especially as far as the White Sox are concerned.
Today: Players become free agents. At the major league level for the White Sox, this means Erick Fedde, Randal Grichuk, Sean Newcomb, Tommy Pham, Trevor Richards and Jake Rogers. The White Sox have five days to negotiate with them exclusively until free agency begins.
Nov. 1: Gold Glove winners are announced, and one of them could be Chase Meidroth. He's listed as an American League finalist, and while some "finalists" are easily identifiable as bronze medalists from the day the announcement is made, he has as good a chance as anyone at second base.
Nov. 2: The White Sox don't have to worry about contract options for qualifying offers this year, which means the only thing on their plate is free agency, which opens at 4 p.m. CT.
Nov. 9: The Rookie of the Year is revealed, and we'll see what kind of support Tristan Peters, Munetaka Murakami and Sam Antonacci receive.
Nov. 10-12: The GM Meetings in Las Vegas, which are likely to be the closest thing to the Winter Meetings this offseason.
Nov. 10: It's the Manager of the Year's turn, where Will Venable has a legit chance to dethrone two-time winner Stephen Vogt if the Sporting News' award is any indication.
Nov. 11: A whole bunch of honors are announced on this date:
- Cy Young Awards
- Relief Pitcher of the Year Awards
- All-MLB Teams
- Hank Aaron Awards
- Comeback Player of the Year Awards
- Rivers/Hoffman Reliever of the Year Awards
- Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter
- Executive of the Year
The last one seems to be the most pertinent for the White Sox. Chris Getz has a decent shot after engineering baseball's biggest surprise, although Matt Arnold of the Brewers has won it the past two years, and even if the voting took place before the World Series, a 102-win season is Milwaukee's best work yet.
For all the breakout/off-the-radar seasons the White Sox enjoyed, there aren't many that classify as Comeback Player of the Year material. Erick Fedde is probably the closest, but I don't think he ascended to the kind of heights required to win an award for it.
Nov. 12: The MVPs are named, and Miguel Vargas' place in the American League results is worth watching.
Nov. 16: The Baseball Hall of Fame posts its ballot for the Class of 2027. Buster Posey and Jon Lester are the most intriguing new names; the former seems like a lock, and the latter should prompt comparisons to Mark Buehrle.
Nov. 17: Likewise, Vargas is the White Sox's best Silver Slugger hopeful, and that's when those awards are announced.
Nov. 17: The Rule 5 protection deadline arrives at 5 p.m. The White Sox don't have any sure calls, and depending on the labor situation, they may not be required to make them.
Nov. 17-19: Owners meetings in New York. Perhaps this will be a bigger deal next November when expansion is a real possibility, but this will probably be last-minute labor stuff.
Nov. 20: The non-tender deadline arrives, which means the White Sox have to make calls on Vargas, Brenton Doyle, Huascar Brazobán, Joey Bart, Jordan Leasure and Chris Murphy if they haven't already.
Dec. 1: The collective bargaining agreement expires at 10:59 p.m. CT. Unless the sides agree to a new CBA or some kind of extension, all major league transactions will be frozen at this point.
Dec. 6: The Hall of Fame announces the results of committee voting for the Contemporary Baseball Era candidates, which will be from among a class of managers, executives and umpires posted on Nov. 2.
Dec. 7-9: The Winter Meetings are supposed to take place in San Diego, but it would be a casualty of a lockout. We have not made travel plans.
Dec. 8: The White Sox will see where they pick in the MLB draft lottery-- sorry, muscle memory took over. The White Sox are not involved in the draft lottery this year, and will draft something like 23rd overall, depending on whether teams still lose draft picks for signing top free agents.
Dec. 9: The Rule 5 draft is usually held on the final day of the Winter Meetings, but it was delayed and ultimately canceled the last time the league locked out players, which is why the White Sox may take a less-is-more approach to protecting players this time around.
Jan. 8: The arbitration filing deadline arrives for the aforementioned eligible players, but this was delayed until after the lockout ended five years ago.
Jan. 15: The international signing period opens.
Jan. 19: The Hall of Fame's Class of 2027 is announced, which mainly means monitoring Buehrle's progress, or lack thereof.
Feb. 19: The White Sox's Cactus League schedule is set to open, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
With a full month between the opening of free agency and the CBA's expiration, there could be plenty of activity in November, so here's hoping that first month provides material for examining, exploring and debating over the several weeks that follow.
The White Sox will also have to resolve one vacancy that doesn't involve the CBA, as they have to hire a new play-by-play broadcaster after letting John Schriffen go. The last time around, the White Sox took nearly three months between Jason Benetti's departure (Nov. 9) and Schriffen's hiring (Jan. 25). Since teams aren't permitted to use players' names or likenesses during the lockout, a December hiring would give a starved White Sox social media team at least a few days of content.
