Three months ago, MLB on FOX analyst A.J. Pierzynski visited Pope Leo XIV and presented the pontiff with the final out ball from Game 1 of the 2005 Fall Classic. Pierzynski, who was the catcher for that World Series-winning White Sox team, did not need to make much of an introduction.
The pope, who grew up a White Sox fan, already knew who he was. Now, Pope Leo and the White Sox faithful will get to watch their favorite team in the postseason for the first team in five years after the South Siders secured the final wild-card spot. Ahead of the playoffs, I caught up with Pierzynski to talk about the White Sox, playoff baseball in Chicago, the teams who could surprise this October, the advice he’d give to 20-year-old Padres catcher Ethan Salas, and, yes, that pope visit. (Note: Questions and answers may be edited for clarity or brevity.) You debuted as a 21-year-old with the Twins, but it wasn’t until your age-25 season that you played in the postseason.
Padres catcher Ethan Salas is about to become the youngest catcher ever to play in a postseason game. I’m curious what advice you would give to the 20-year-old? Pierzynski: Just enjoy the moment.
Be excited to be there because you never know how many chances you’re going to get in the postseason. I remember in 2002 I made the playoffs with the Twins, and I was like, ‘Oh, man, we’re going to make the playoffs every year.’ Because we made it in 2002, 2003. Then 2004 we missed, 2005 we won the World Series, and I was like, ‘Oh, man, this playoff thing is easy.’ Then it seemed like we went forever without making it.
So, if anything, listen to guys like Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, guys who have been there, been through the battles, and just enjoy it. The one thing you never get to do as a player is enjoy the moment because you're in the moment. Even winning a World Series 20-plus years ago, looking back, I just wish I would've gotten to enjoy it a little bit more, meaning step back and look around and say, ‘Man, this is pretty awesome, we’re about to win the World Series.’ When you’re in it, you’re so in it and you’re so focused on the task at hand that you don’t really get that second to just look around and say, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing.’ You were there in 2008 when the White Sox and Cubs both made the playoffs.
Can you describe what the city of Chicago is like when both of those teams are relevant and playing well? Pierzynski: There’s nothing like it, honestly. I played for the Red Sox, played Red Sox-Yankees.
I played for the Giants, saw Dodgers-Giants. I played for the Cardinals, Cardinals-Cubs. I never was in the Subway Series, but I can tell you right now the crosstown between the Cubs and the White Sox, for me, was the most fun and most electric rivalry, if that’s what you want to call it, that I was ever a part of for so many reasons.
But mostly just because when both teams are good, the city is just absolutely electric. Those six games we used to play every year were my favorite six games not in the postseason. Every year you look, as soon as the schedule comes out, when do we play the Cubs?
When do we go to Wrigley? When guys would come up or were new to the team, I would say, ‘All right, just wait until we get to go to Wrigley, you’ll see something you’ve never seen before.’ They were like, "Ah, what are you talking about?’ Then they go to Wrigley for the first time as a visitor on the White Sox and they’re like, ‘OK, that is absolutely amazing.’ Or when the Cubs would come to, whatever it’s called now, Rate Field, just because of the way the fans were into it. When both teams were really trying and were really good, the atmosphere would change.
It wasn’t as good when one team was good but the other team wasn’t good. But when both teams were good, especially before the Cubs won their World Series in 2016, it was crazy. The White Sox fans would rub it in their face, ‘We got our World Series before you guys did.’ That would lead to fisticuffs in the stands and arguments in the stands, and it was just one of those atmospheres you could never replicate.
There’s a lifelong bond, I’m sure, that happens when you win a World Series with a group of guys. Do you stay in touch with your old White Sox teammates? Pierzynski: You definitely keep tabs with most of them.
You can’t keep tabs with everybody. That’d be almost impossible. But we always have a special bond.
We just had our 20-year reunion last year. You definitely always have something with them that nobody can take away. I think that’s the biggest thing that people don’t understand.
When you play baseball, and people find out you play baseball, long after you retire, the first question you get is always, ‘Did you win a World Series?’ ‘Oh, you played Major League Baseball, do you have a ring?’ To be able to say yes to that, is like, as the kids would say, one of the greatest flexes, right? ‘Yeah, I got one of those, no big deal.’ Then the next question is, ‘Do you have your ring?’ I’m like, ‘No, I never wear it,’ because I don’t. Then obviously the next questions are.
‘Did you make an All-Star team? Who’s the toughest pitcher you had to hit off of?’ But it is always, ‘Did you win a World Series?’ So, you have that bond forever. Nobody can ever take it away from you.
And then when you see those guys, even after not seeing someone for a long time or speaking to someone for a long time, you always have a special bond. You always have stories you can go back to. You always have something to talk about.
There’s something that doesn’t go away. What do you think needs to happen for these White Sox to make a surprise run through October? Pierzynski: They need some pitching to step up, obviously.
Whether it’s Sean Burke, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, whoever their other starters are going to be, they need their starters to give them more innings than what they’ve given them. Now, one thing about the White Sox is they don’t let their starters go very deep. I think their starters threw the least amount of innings in Major League Baseball this year, which is normally not a very good strategy for a deep run into the postseason.
In the regular season, and I’ve talked about this a million times, when you have relievers that constantly come into games, you do this in the regular season and say, ‘OK, so and so’s tired, we can option them down and bring up another guy to take his spot.’ When you get to the postseason, you can’t do that because of the rule change to where you can’t option someone if a guy gets hurt or whatever. He has to miss a series. So, guys get worn down even with the off days, and you need either starters going to the bullpen to make up for those reliever innings if you’re going to try to run it that way or starters to step up and give you six innings or at least into the sixth inning.
Because every out you save with your starter is one less out you have to get with your bullpen. It’s a fine line you have to walk, but I swear by this: The team that has the best starting pitching wins almost every time, throughout long series and throughout the postseason, because they save outs for their bullpen. Along those lines, do you look at the Dodgers as the clear favorites to three-peat?
And if so, what team in the NL do you think is best equipped to try to stop that from happening? Pierzynski: I always think that the Dodgers are the best team until someone beats them. They’re in the postseason again, they have their pitching.
You want to go into a seven-game series and get Yamamoto twice, Skubal twice, possibly Snell or Glasnow twice? That doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun as a hitter to have to go in and battle against that. But that being said, they’re vulnerable.
They obviously didn’t win as many games as the Brewers did. I think there’s multiple teams in the National League that are definitely equipped. Whether it’s Milwaukee, for sure, because if you get Miz, Henderson, Harrison pitching well, the way Pat Murphy, I don’t know if ‘motivates’ that team is the right word, but the way he understands his team dynamic and gets them to play like a team is like no other team in baseball.
And I honestly just believe Milwaukee could do it. I think Philly, you get Bryce Harper, Schwarber hot, Turner hot, with Sanchez and Nola and Wheeler and if Luzardo can pitch, that’s another great one. The National League is so much tougher.
Even the Braves, you get Sale and Mahle pitching well with their back end of the bullpen, Iglesias the way he’s pitched and that bullpen, and you get RIley and Acuna and that whole crew hot, the National League is so equipped. Even the Cubs could do it. Throw the Padres in there, because the Padres aren’t scared.
But again, until somebody beats the Dodgers, man, I just don’t know who’s going to do it. Someone has to step up and do it. It’s been so long since someone’s been able to do it that I think there’s a little bit of doubt, even in players’ minds.
What’s a surprise team you think people should be talking more about this postseason that might be flying a bit under the radar? Pierzynski: The Brewers are the team that stands out to me. This should be the year where the Brewers have a great chance to do a lot of damage.
I think people are talking about them, but they also look at them and say, ‘Oh, it’s the same old Brewers.’ ‘That’s cute they won 100 games, but, ah, they’re the Brewers, they’re not going to win in the postseason.’ But honestly, I think they’re a team that could win the whole thing. There’s a lot of reasons why — the way they play defense, the way they hit with runners in scoring position, the way they play the game is just the right way. When you talk to other teams and say you’ve got to play the Brewers, the way they talk about it is how much more prep you have to put into it because the way they play is so different than any other team — the way they bunt, the way they steal bases, the way they run the bases, the way they pitch, the way Murph handles the bullpen, it’s just different than any other team.
The only other team that kind of compares to that is the Rays. So, the two I think people don’t talk about — again, because they’re the Rays and the Brewers — are the Rays and the Brewers. Despite where they were the last few years, you were pretty adamant it would’ve been a failure if the White Sox had failed to reach the postseason after leading the division for much of the second half.
Now that they’re in, are they playing with house money? Pierzynski: No. No.
I understand why fans think that, but expectations change. I’m sorry. The way the White Sox can swing the bat, if they get Murakami hot, Colson Montgomery hot, they get some of these guys hot, they have a chance to absolutely do damage in the postseason.
Is it a success? Yeah, it’s a success because they weren’t going to lose 100 games again. And it’s a success because the fans are behind them again and the fans believe in them and they’re fun to watch.
But as far as being satisfied? Heck no. You’re in the postseason.
The goal is to win the World Series. Once you get in, you’re like, ‘Well, why can’t we win the World Series?’ I guarantee you even the Cincinnati Reds last year who had to play the Dodgers and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, how’d this team even get into the postseason?’ They didn’t go into that series thinking, ‘We got no chance.’ They went into it saying if Hunter Greene pitches really well and [Nick] Lodolo, and Elly [De La Cruz] gets hot, we got a chance to knock the Dodgers off. You have to look at it like that.
So, yeah, is it great the White Sox are in? One hundred percent, compared to where they were. But do you just look at it and say it was successful because they didn’t lose 100 games and they made the postseason?
Yeah, but it’d be cool to keep the success going and build and actually have a chance to win a ring. At the end of the day, the goal is to win the ring. You mentioned how people ask you about the World Series.
I have to imagine this year everyone is asking you about the pope. That experience with your family had to be incredible. So, is it more wild that the pope is going to be watching this White Sox run or that he knows who you are?
Pierzynski: Oh, that the pope knows who I am. I mean, are you kidding? Remember I mentioned a flex earlier, a cool flex.
When you walk up to the Pope and you say, ‘Hey, I’m A.J. Pierzynski,’ and he goes, ‘You don't have to introduce yourself; I already know who you are, and I’ve been waiting to talk to you all day,’ you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty incredible,’ right? Just the fact you get to go up there, meet someone, talk to them, and he couldn’t be more gracious, humble, everything you would expect someone like the pope to be.
He exceeded all expectations. And then for him to say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m paying attention to the White Sox,’ they’ve got to have a little divine intervention in their corner, don’t they?
