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The Chicago White Sox are the baseball team on the South Side of Chicago. They play at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Chicago White Sox and Me
I’m a Sox fan. I know that’s not the popular choice in the city. Unlike the Northsiders, we don’t have a world-famous ballpark and we don’t have the “lovable losers” tag (2016 might have killed that), but the Sox are the baseball team I’ve supported my whole life. We’ve been through plenty of ups and downs together. They make me bitter and ruin my day more often than not, but I love them and I’ll always stand by them. That being said, SELL THE TEAM, JERRY!
I’m not going to talk about the team so much in this post. This is about the stadium and the baseball experience on the South Side of Chicago. Check the official website for more information on the team.
Guaranteed Rate Field: Home of the Chicago White Sox
Guaranteed Rate Field opened as Comiskey Park on April 18, 1991. The architects were HOK Sport (now Populous). It replaced the oldest baseball stadium in use at the time, Comiskey Park, which was built in 1910. In 2003, it was renamed US Cellular Field, and on October 31, 2016, it became Guaranteed Rate Field. The park is owned by the State of Illinois.
Luckily, I was able to go to some games at the old Comiskey Park when I was a kid. It’s now a parking lot, but the site where home plate used to be is marked.
Getting to Guaranteed Rate Field
Take the Red Line or Green Line to 35th Street to get to the park. If you’re driving, take the Dan Ryan and follow the exits to the parking lots. Tickets can be found easily. Games rarely sell out unless the team is hot (also rarely!).
Features of Guaranteed Rate Field
Guaranteed Rate Field has a seating capacity of just over 40,000. It’s 330 feet to left field, 400 to dead center, and 335 to right.
The architects of Guaranteed Rate Field missed the boat. It was built just before the era of the state-of-the-art stadiums that started popping up, such as the ballparks in Baltimore and Cleveland. Also, one issue that I’ll never understand is why the park wasn’t built with the beautiful Chicago skyline in the background. You can see it clearly from the ramps leading up from the gates.
Millions of dollars have been spent in renovations to upgrade the park and it’s become more acceptable to me. It’s night and day if you compare how the park looked when it opened in 1991 to today. Stores, fan zones, statues, a better color scheme, a new batter’s eye, a new roof, upgraded entrances, and new HD scoreboards are just some of the improvements that have been made. The experience has gotten better but it’s still not quite as scenic as what more recent parks offer.
The “exploding” scoreboard is a feature brought over from the old stadium, originally implemented by former team owner Bill Veeck in 1960. The pinwheels rotate and fireworks are shot from behind after each White Sox home run or victory.
Statues at Guaranteed Rate Field
The outfield concourse is the location of several statues of White Sox greats, including Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, Billy Pierce, Nellie Fox, Luis Aparicio, Minnie Miñoso, Harold Baines, and team founder Charles Comiskey.
Food at Guaranteed Rate Field
Guaranteed Rate Field is known to have arguably the best food in all of baseball. Polish sausage, bratwurst, Italian sausage, Vienna Beef hot dogs, churros, nachos, Italian beef, and more can be found on the concourse. If you get up to the luxury boxes and Stadium Club, you’re in for even more of a treat.
2005 World Series Monument
Outside the park is a monument dedicated to the 2005 World Series champions. It features key moments of the team’s championship run. Players depicted on the sculpture are Paul Konerko, Joe Crede, and Juan Uribe.
My Memorable Chicago White Sox Moments
I’ve been lucky to have attended some of the most memorable games at Guaranteed Rate Field. At the top of the list is Game 2 of the 2005 World Series. I was able to see Paul Konerko hit a grand slam to take a 6-4 lead over the Houston Astros, and Scott Podsednik hitting an improbable walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th to win it.
I was also there for the banner ceremony at Opening Day in 2006, and at the one game playoff in 2008 agains the Minnesota Twins. Jim Thome hit a blast to center field to win that game 1-0. It was called the “Black Out Game” because all fans were asked to wear black in support of the team.
