Divine intervention?
With the Chicago White Sox clinching a spot in the MLB playoffs for the first time since 2021 with their Thursday afternoon win against the Kansas City Royals, Pope Leo XIV, who grew up in Chicago and is a fan of the team, was asked whether he played a role in Chicago cracking the American League playoff field this season.
“No comment,” Leo quipped when asked about what role he played in the White Sox’s success, adding that “great things happen in Chicago.”
Last month, the team had a Pope Leo-White Sox-themed cap giveaway and later sent the hat to the Pope himself, who took a picture with it.
While Chicago has punched its ticket to the postseason, its seeding remains up in the air. The White Sox are currently in possession of the No. 3 AL wild-card seed at 82-77, but they trail the Cleveland Guardians by one game for first place in the AL Central.
If Chicago wins the AL Central, it will be the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs and host either Cleveland or the Boston Red Sox in the MLB Wild Card round. Should the Guardians win the AL Central, the White Sox would be the No. 3 AL wild-card seed and travel to Cleveland for the Wild Card round; the Red Sox have the White Sox edged out for the No. 2 AL wild-card seed by way of a tiebreaker (Boston went 6-0 against Chicago this season).
Chicago ends the regular season with a three-game series at home against the Colorado Rockies from Sept. 25-27.
