Some White Sox fans are headed to Rate Field next Wednesday, and the trip comes with a little help from Houston’s most famous booster, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.
At St. Gabriel’s Catholic School at 45th and Wallace, the news landed as a victory worth celebrating all on its own. Principal Julie Jurisic said she told the students after lunch, and the reaction told her everything she needed to know.
“I told the kids right after lunch. That was amazing and it’s unreal. For these kids it’s a dream for them, for these teachers, for their principal, a lifelong Sox fan, so it’s amazing,” Jurisic said.
McIngvale, the owner of Gallery Furniture in Houston, has built a reputation not just for business success but for generous gestures tied to his sports wagers and philanthropy. In this case, his promise to cover the outing came after the Astros lost to the White Sox in the American League Wild Card Series.
He explained the decision with a mix of disappointment and goodwill.
“It’s just it’s fun to be able to do something like this. It’s a little bittersweet that the Astros didn’t win, but these kids are so excited. It kind of makes up for the loss,” Mack said.
The school is close to Rate Field, and the gift means all 190 students at St. Gabriel, along with some parental chaperones, will attend Game 3 of the American League Division Series between the White Sox and Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
McIngvale said he hopes the group has a great time and added that he hopes the White Sox win the World Series.
There’s also a personal connection between St. Gabriel’s and Pope Leo XIV. Jurisic said the school’s former principal knew the pope well because of a family link.
“We have the connection to Pope Leo with his brother being the former principal of St. Gabe’s,” Jurisic said.
The timing fits neatly with the postseason schedule: the ALDS begins Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon.
In Other News...
White Sox Linked To A Dream Ace Fans Wont Fully Believe
The White Sox spent this season trying to show they could move from rebuilding to relevant, and that naturally puts the focus on the kind of arm that can change a franchises direction. ESPNs Kiley McDaniel, citing MLB insiders, has floated Chicago as a potential sleeper in the race for free agent Tarik Skubal, a name that would instantly transform the conversation around the club if it ever got serious.
There is obvious logic to the fit. Chicago needs help in the starting rotation, and the recent postseason success gives the front office a more believable pitch than it might have had a year ago. The question, of course, is whether ownership would ever be willing to chase a deal that could climb into a range this steep, which is why the idea feels intriguing for White Sox fans and hard to fully picture at the same time. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Are Trusting A Rookie With Their Biggest ALDS Gamble
The White Sox are leaning on Hagen Smith again as they open the ALDS, handing the rookie the Game 1 start against the Guardians after he already handled the Wild Card stage against the Astros. Smith gave Chicago three scoreless innings in that outing, and now he gets an even bigger assignment as the club turns the page to a Division Series that begins on the road.
Cleveland will host the first two games before the matchup shifts to Guaranteed Rate Field for Game 3, which only raises the pressure on Chicagos early choices in the series. For a team already willing to trust a rookie in a high-leverage spot, the opening stretch could set the tone for everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Grant Taylor Just Gave The White Sox A Huge October Edge
The Wild Card round has already done plenty to sharpen the edges of October, and for Chicago, it served up a reminder that one big performance can change the feel of a postseason series in a hurry. With three of the four Wild Card matchups ending in sweeps, the opening act of the 2026 MLB postseason was light on drama in some places and heavy on statement-making in others, setting up Division Series conversations around which players most influenced the first real test of the month.
For the White Sox, Grant Taylor emerged as the kind of pitcher who can tilt a short series and give a club a genuine edge moving forward. The Wild Card round does not hand out an official MVP award, but Taylors work against Houston was strong enough to put him in that speculative spotlight, and for a Chicago team looking ahead to the next challenge, it is the sort of October momentum every contender wants to carry. [Read more 🡒]