Houston – The noise began building quickly, a convergence of joy and delirium. Soon the bass kicked in, the Barefoot Bubble champagne sprayed and singing began that spread across states and generations.
“Don’t stop believing!” bellowed Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, capping a magical carpet ride with a pop hit from Journey. Over and over it went, this South Side loop that actually included singer Steve Perry standing side-by-side with the jubilant players.
A team regulated to stepchild status in its own city, famous for tacky uniforms, a fixed World Series and white-flag trades had done the unfathomable. The White Sox swept the Houston Astros on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park, winning Game 4 of the World Series 1-0 to lay claim to the title of baseball’s best team.
Jermaine Dye, the World Series MVP, drove in Willie Harris with a two-out single in the eighth inning off Brad Lidge.
A World Series winner is crowned every year, but the White Sox are world champions for the first time in 88 years.
“I don’t know how it feels,” said White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, waving to his grandson as players soaked their boss with beer. “I won’t know until (today), until it sinks in.”
The White Sox had been insisting for weeks they were prepared for this outcome, that they understand the past three autumn weeks will change their lives forever. Now they are living artifacts, pieces of baseball history, men who will draw whispers and free meals every time they wander into at least half the Windy City neighborhoods.
“This is unbelievable,” White Sox center fielder Aaron Rowand roared. “What can you say?”
Sure, they admit, they have lived charmed October lives, benefiting from the type of umpiring calls capable of removing nearly a century worth of doubt and futility. But let there be no mistake that the White Sox were deserving, beating all comers in all fashions, earning the human scrum that spilled onto the mound.
“It wasn’t about what we did wrong,” Astros catcher Brad Ausums said. “They just beat us.”
The White Sox became the first team since the 1999 New York Yankees to lose just one game in the postseason. After paging Dr. Heimlich in mid- September, nearly deflating a 15-game division cushion, the White Sox finished with victories in 15 of their final 16 games dating to the regular season.
Evidence of their strength came over the past 36 hours. Their pitching was terrific, with Wednesday starter Freddy Garcia blanking the Astros for seven innings. The Astros did not record a hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, striking out five times.
“I told the guys after they found a way to win Game 3, that it was over,” Garcia said. “That the Astros were done.”
The difference, as Astros general manager Tim Purpura admitted, was in the margins. The White Sox executed when they had to, a testament to their remarkable versatility.
One night after a home run provided the final sentence in a 14-inning epic, Dye dribbled a slow roller up the middle for the game-winner.
“It’s going to leave a bitter taste in my mouth,” Lidge said. “In a 0-0 game, anything can happen. A hopper gets through and that was the game. It hurts.”
Bobby Jenks closed out the win with help from former Rockies shortstop Juan Uribe, who looked like Derek Jeter in the waning moments. He dived into the left-field stands to catch a foul ball between a sea of enemy hands, before erasing Orlando Palmeiro by a step at first base for the final out.
That throw triggered a wild celebration that included bad karaoke, a rock star and a fitting close.
“Thank you, White Sox!” screamed the Chicago fans near the third-base dugout.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5447 or trenck@denverpost.com.
