Spring training at Camelback Ranch has always been a tale of two teams—the Hollywood glitz of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the grittier, underdog vibe of the Chicago White Sox. Since 2009, they’ve shared the same complex, yet they might as well be in different worlds.
This year, the contrast is sharper than ever. The Dodgers, fresh off their World Series win, are a global spectacle. A tent has even been set up outside the ballpark to accommodate the swarm of Japanese reporters eager to follow the every move of Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and the defending champs. Meanwhile, over on the White Sox side, it’s business as usual—no special arrangements, no overwhelming media presence, just a handful of dedicated reporters covering a team that’s trying to claw its way out of the shadows.
The White Sox’s Uphill Battle
The Sox aren’t strangers to being overlooked, and they know they’ll have to earn every ounce of attention.
“The only time you think about that side is when you drive in, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I forget we’re connected,’” White Sox starter Davis Martin admitted. “There are a lot of things we need to do in our building, and we can’t look past that.”
That’s the reality for a team coming off a brutal 121-loss season—one of the worst in MLB history. Expectations are low, and the Sox will have to fight tooth and nail just to regain respectability. Winning back fans will be an even tougher challenge, especially since general manager Chris Getz didn’t make any major free-agent moves in the offseason.
The road ahead won’t be easy. The team is projected to lose 100+ games again, and their best-known players, including ace Garrett Crochet and star outfielder Luis Robert, are either gone or likely to be traded before the season even starts. That leaves the Sox in full-on rebuilding mode, searching for the next face of the franchise.
Young Guns and Fresh Faces
But every rebuild has its silver lining, and for the White Sox, it comes in the form of young talent looking to prove itself. Players like Kyle Teel, Jonathan Cannon, Sean Burke, Noah Schultz, and Chase Meidroth are stepping into the spotlight, hoping to give the South Side something to cheer about.
Cannon, who has 21 starts under his belt, is the only returning starter with double-digit outings. Martin, after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, made 10 starts in the second half of last season. Burke, meanwhile, impressed with a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings. If the Sox have any chance of staying competitive, these arms will have to step up and keep games close—especially in the early months, when offense could be scarce.
Adding to the challenge is the team’s brutal schedule. The Sox won’t see warm weather until late April when they play the Athletics in Sacramento. Until then, it’s cold, gritty baseball—just the kind of conditions that might work in their favor.
Turning the Page
Despite the disastrous 2024 season, the vibe in the White Sox clubhouse is surprisingly optimistic. The roster is packed with new faces, and those who survived last season’s chaos are eager for a fresh start.
“The vibe is good, a lot of new faces in here,” Cannon said. “Everyone is kind of excited to turn the page after last season. I think we were able to end on a little bit of a good note with some wins there the last couple of weeks and build some momentum into this spring.”
That small, late-season rally might not have changed the standings, but it at least helped the team regain some dignity. When the Sox swept the Angels in the final homestand, fans who had been bracing for history (as in, the worst record ever) were suddenly reminded that pride still mattered.
Learning from the Past
Of course, the pain of last season isn’t something that can be erased overnight. The White Sox spent a good portion of September in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, with fans and analysts picking apart every mistake.
Cannon believes the experience taught the team a valuable lesson: “Just what it means to be a professional. Being able to come in and go about your business with a lot of noise going on, especially at the end. There were some things we wanted to avoid.”
Unfortunately, they didn’t avoid what mattered most—a historically bad record—but at least they ended on a slightly higher note than expected. That fighting spirit, if it carries into 2025, might just be what this team needs to surprise some people.
Facing the Giants (Metaphorically)
Sharing a training facility with the world champion Dodgers adds another layer to the Sox’s challenge. It’s a daily reminder of where they want to be and how far they have to go. Getz acknowledged the disparity but sees it as an opportunity.
“There’s a lot of different ways to go about building an organization, (and) they’ve done a great job within the parameters that they have,” he said. “With that being said, it’s a great opportunity to be matched up at a facility with a team that won the World Series to have something to aim toward. How are we going to beat them? How can we compete?”
The Dodgers’ success didn’t happen overnight, and the White Sox know they’re in for a long climb. Spending on free agents would help, but Getz knew when he took over in 2023 that a complete rebuild was the only realistic path.
Now, the question is: can the team’s young core start moving things in the right direction?
A Fresh Start
For Davis Martin, shaking off the weight of last season was easier than expected.
“It was pretty easy to get it out of your head,” he said. “At least where I’m from, in the South, once baseball is over it’s football season, and no one talks about it. My family and my wife asked me about it. They were part of it because it affected everyone. But you learn from it, and we’ll be better off for it.”
The true test begins on March 27, when the White Sox open the season with a three-game series against the Angels—the very team they swept to close out 2024. If they can channel the defiance they showed in that final homestand and turn it into a season-long attitude, maybe, just maybe, they can prove the doubters wrong.
It won’t be easy, and it won’t be glamorous. But for a team that’s used to fighting for recognition, that’s just another day at Camelback Ranch.
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