Subscribe
Follow Us
Although the Chicago White Sox are showing a little more life than last season — clearing the historically low bar they set in 2024 by winning 44 games to this point — fans are still desperate for an escape. The Savannah Bananas did them one better than that over the weekend, transporting Rate Field to a happier time. Those who packed the stadium to see baseball's version of the Harlem Globetrotters were treated to an amusingly nostalgic experience.
Mark Buehrle and A.J. Pierzynski, members of the White Sox's last World Series championship team and one of the better batteries in franchise history, shared a clubhouse for the first time in 14 years. They wore the signature Bananas bright yellow on this occasion, however, shaking off the rust and doing their best to recapture the in-game chemistry they displayed in eight MLB seasons together.
Mark Buehrle to A.J. Pierzynski… just bananas! 🍌 pic.twitter.com/0LVZxBTiAb
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 17, 2025
The five-time All-Star starting pitcher and two-time All-Star catcher helped the Sox end an 88-year title drought in 2005 and will forever hold a special place in the South Side's heart. Although much time has passed since either man has donned the Black and White — the stadium has undergone multiple name changes in that span — their local impact is maybe just as strong as ever. They represent the last truly great season of White Sox baseball, a fact that is as painful as it is noteworthy.
When fans watch Buehrle pitch to Pierzynski, they remember the joy they felt watching their club bulldoze its way through the rest of the competition en route to an 11-4 postseason record in 2005. But reliving those memories also makes one realize how far removed the Sox are from that monumental triumph. Chicago lost 121 games last season, a modern-day MLB record, and the team is in the midst of another brutal campaign this year. Another one is expected to come in 2026.
White Sox fans will smile when they can
Processing all these emotions is difficult, but the Savannah Bananas gave fans the opportunity to just have some fun for a little while. The Buehrle-Pierzynski team-up produced thousands of smiles. The players themselves shared in the euphoria.
“We spent a lot of time together,” 2012 Silver Slugger and current color commentator A.J. Pierzynski said of White Sox legend Mark Buehrle, via MLB.com's Scott Merkin. “Our lockers were next to each other the whole time. That was the best part, to get to go out with Mark one last time and get to catch …”
Apart from the aforementioned duo, this epic 2005 White Sox reunion also featured American League Championship Series MVP and six-time All-Star Paul Konerko and former fiery manager Ozzie Guillen, who briefly acted as first base coach in the game and danced with the Bananas.
Perhaps some of the magic and good vibes will remain in Rate Field by the time the White Sox return home this weekend. One can only hope, anyway.
