Sam Antonacci’s 2026 season gave the White Sox something unusual at nearly every turn, but no part of it stood out quite like the beanball barrage. He was hit by pitches 29 times, the most in the 126-year history of the Chicago American League Ballclub. That blew past the franchise mark of 23, previously held by Minnie Minoso in 1956 and matched by Carlos Quentin in 2011.
That total also set the MLB rookie record, though it still came up six shy of Don Baylor’s 1986 American League record. Antonacci’s hit-by-pitch total was the highest in the American League since 2016, and he became the first Sox player to lead the league in that category since Quentin in 2011.
The postseason brought even more oddball history. Antonacci was hit four times in October, which stands as the most by any Sox player in a single postseason and across a postseason career.
It also set the rookie record for one postseason and tied for second overall behind Shane Victorino’s seven in 2013. He also became the first player in postseason history with multiple bases-loaded hit by pitches in a career, doing it in back-to-back games.
Antonacci’s value wasn’t limited to the batter’s box, even if the position shuffling was real. He played 114 games in left field for the 2026 Sox.
Before his MLB debut on Tax Day, he had logged only 11 professional games there, all at Charlotte in 2026. At second base, though, he looked far more comfortable, batting .386/.478/.509 in 24 games.
Those numbers dropped to .254/.350/.364 in left.
He also did serious damage as a reserve. In 17 games off the bench, Antonacci hit .414 with a .452 on-base percentage and a .517 slugging percentage after manager Will Venable called on him to “grab a bat or glove and get in there.”
That .414 mark ranks eighth among all Sox seasons by a reserve hitter and is the best since Ross Gload’s .447 in 2006. The highest reserve average in team history remains Johnny Romano’s .471 for the 1959 champs.
With runners in scoring position, Antonacci was a steady problem for opposing pitchers, batting .348/.434/.494. His batting average and on-base percentage both led the club, and his average topped all AL rookies while ranking seventh overall. He also hit .323 with runners on base, another team-best number and the highest by a Sox rookie since Chris Singleton’s .343 in 1999.
One of the season’s signature moments came on April 21 in Arizona, when Antonacci turned in a rare combo: a triple and an inside-the-park home run in the same game. He was the first Sox player to do that since May 26, 1933, when Luke Appling pulled it off against the Yankees in the Bronx.
Antonacci also joined a tiny class of rookies with well-rounded production. He and Victor Robles in 2019 and David Eckstein in 2001 are the only rookies with at least 20 doubles, 20 steals and 20 hit-by-pitches in a season.
His postseason line added a few more markers. Antonacci’s .667 home postseason on-base percentage is the highest in Sox history for players with at least three plate appearances.
He was also the first Sox player to be hit by two pitches in one postseason game, doing it in Game 3 of the ALDS. And in that same game, he became the first designated hitter to bat leadoff for the Sox in a postseason contest.
At 23, he was the youngest Sox player and the first Sox rookie to hit atop the order in a postseason game.
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White Sox Could Be Facing Another Front Office Loss
Josh Barfield has become a familiar part of the White Sox front office since joining Chris Getz as his assistant general manager, but his name is now showing up in another big-league search. Houston is working through its list of general manager candidates, and Barfield is one of the executives being considered as the Astros look to fill the job before the World Series ends.
For Chicago, it is another reminder that front office continuity can be hard to hold onto even as the organization tries to build around Getz's leadership. Barfield has already been connected to other GM opportunities, and he previously passed on outside interest while choosing to stay focused on the White Sox, which makes this latest round of attention worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]