SoxFest Live kicked off Friday night at the Ramova Theater as the baseball offseason ends and pitchers and catchers prepare to report for spring training. The White Sox had a decent bounce-back season last year while sporting a very young team in 2025 and coming off a historically horrible 2024. However, the mood was high all night on the South Side, as fans feel more optimistic about the organization’s future.
Of course, the part of the evening that generated the most buzz was the announcement of promotional items for 2026and believe me, they are SHARP.
An image featuring all the White Sox gifts for 2025, including t-shirts, bobble figures, jackets and more.
Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Kyle Teel all opened a gift bag on stage containing their own figurines, including a receiver duo figurine featuring Teel and his counterpart, Edgar Quero. While they’re all great, in my opinion the real star of the series is the Bobby Jenks and AJ Pierzynski figure as they celebrate their 2005 World Series victory. A perfect tribute to the glue of the championship-winning team and to Bobby, who passed away way too soon last year.
Bobby Jenks and AJ Pierzynski Bobblehead
Home Opening Weekend is full of fun giveaways, including the Bobby and AJ pom pom, an Opening Day t-shirt featuring Munetaka Murakami, a few jackets, and plenty of City Connect goodies. I know I first talked about the lack of creativity of the new City Connect jerseys, but they are a pretty epic piece of gear. And let’s not forget the Mexican heritage items, because every year these games are beyond fun with sold-out crowds, and the Los White Sox jersey is always a hit.
When speaking with several season ticket holders, the consensus is that they have more confidence in the front office over the past year, and there is increased positivity surrounding the Rebuild 2.0 that general manager Chris Getz has been forced to undertake. Many players seem to share the same sentiment, as every player we were able to speak with said they were “excited to get back with the guys, start playing again and work on being consistent.”
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There were 10 South Siders in the building Friday night. The legendary Gene Honda started the evening by introducing everyone, with his signature smooth voice, easily getting the crowd pumped like it was a Saturday night game at the Rate, and he announced the starting lineup. Kind of a scary starting lineup considering there were only four position players and six pitchers, but maybe Davis Martin or Shane Smith are a secret weapon at the plate, although I’m not sure I want to find out.
White Sox players and staff on stage from left: Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas, Shane Smith, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, Grant Taylor, Tanner McDougal, Sam Antonacci, followed by Will Venable, Chris Getz, John Schriffen, Len Kasper, Chuck Garfein, Connor McKnight and Brooke Fletcher
The first team was the broadcast team, with game reporters Brooke Fletcher and Connor McKnight, followed by the television and radio team, with Chuck Garfein, Len Kasper and John Schriffen. Getz and manager Will Venable replaced the front office and coaching staff, followed by two minor league prospects who joined this year: infielder Sam Antonacci and right-hander Tanner McDougal.
The remaining major leaguers were the stars of the show. Grant Taylor, Anthony Kay, Davis Martin and Shane Smith represented the South Side pitching staff. Kay joined the team for the first time this offseason, coming over from NPB in Japan, and is excited to meet some of the guys and is looking forward to spring training and another chance in MLB.
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Last but not least: infielders Vargas, Meidroth and Montgomery, as well as catcher Teel, who recently committed to play for Italy in the World Baseball Classic in March. There was, however, one player who was unable to attend, but Munetaka Murakami was there in spirit and shared a message to fans, eliciting a roar from the crowd as they heard “Go White Sox!”
Fans were also able to ask Getz and Venable questions in a segment called “Pardon the Pitch Clock,” which gave them four minutes to answer a few questions from the crowd. The five categories before a final “blitzkrieg” were: 2026 outlook, off-season acquisitions and roster philosophy, players to watch, new initiatives and innovations, and clubhouse culture and leadership. This year has probably been a lot easier to handle, considering they’re not coming off the worst season ever, but the positivity and buy-in from Getz and Venable seems to be boosting fans’ hope for the team’s future.
Kudos to the White Sox for putting on a great opening day event, and a big thank you to the players for being welcoming and willing to talk with us and answer questions. We’ll be back with more coverage throughout the event!
