1st to 20

[southsidesoxfan1]

First to 20 — The White Sox have been the first team in the major leagues to reach 10 and 20 wins this season …
since 1996, 10 of the first 12 teams to reach the 20-win plateau have made the playoffs … including the White Sox,
the last five clubs to reach 20 wins first have come from the American League … the breakdown:
Year Club Playoffs Record Date

2005 White Sox 20-7 5/4/05
2004 Los Angeles Yes 20-10 5/7/04
2003 New York (AL) Yes 20-4 4/26/03
2002 Seattle No 20-9 5/3/02
2001 Seattle Yes 20-4 4/28/01
2000 Atlanta Yes 20-6 5/2/00
1999 Cleveland Yes 20-8 5/7/99
1998 Atlanta Yes 20-9 5/2/98
1998 San Diego Yes 20-8 5/2/98
1997 Atlanta Yes 20-6 5/1/97
1996 Cleveland Yes 20-9 5/5/96
1996 Montreal No 20-11 5/5/96
1996 Texas Yes 20-11 5/5/96


Can't wait till October.:bandance:

[BRDSR]

Can't wait till October.:bandance:

I like the original post, don't get me wrong. I like all the reasons that the White Sox will probably make the playoffs this year. But, I think WSI needs to try and avoid saying things that imply the Sox will definitely be playing in October. I've been disappointed by this team too many times(and I'm only 19). I think this team is different than any team of the past 11 years, but please, lets not get ahead of ourselves. Let's wait until late-august, early-september when the Sox have historically choked. Despite the current pace, I'd be extremely surprised if the sox hold a 15-18 game lead in the division at that time, which is what they're on pace to have right now.

[SoxFan76]

I can't be alone when I say that I am expecting the worst. I don't expect the Sox to keep up anywhere near this pace for the rest of the sesaon. I just don't want to set myself up for disappointment.

[elrod]

Well, there's a reason the first team to 20 wins tends to get to the playoffs. Most of those teams were pretty good. What's more, even when those teams went into slumps, their April performance bailed them out in the end. Notice that the 2003 Royals and the 2001 Twins did NOT make this list? 20 wins is a sizable chunk of the season so it's a pretty decent indicator of how good a team is. The 2002 Mariners just fell apart while two other AL West teams surged. It took an amazing Angels run after April, and a 20-game win streak in Oakland to knock Seattle out of the picture anyway. The most famous example of a first-to-20 flop was the 1987 Brewers, BTW. They were 20-3, and then they went on a 12 game losing streak to put their record at 20-15.

[Bisco Stu]

What's the stats for first to 30?

At the rate we're going, that'll be happening by mid-May. :D: