Gonzalez 2008 ALCS Game 4 Eleven-Inning Win

Lore & Background

The Rays' 2008 ALDS victory over the Chicago White Sox was a three-games-to-one series win. The White Sox did not participate in the 2008 ALCS; that series was between the Rays and the Red Sox.

In Their Own Story

The October air over Wrigley was sharp enough to cut. The lights hummed above the outfield, and the ivy on the brick looked almost black in the glow. Somewhere in the stands, a kid in a faded White Sox cap was pressed against the railing, breath fogging in the cold, watching the ball trace a lazy arc into the gap. The scoreboard read something nobody in the crowd would ever forget. Gonzalez stood in the box, knees bent, eyes locked on the pitcher's mound, and the whole ballpark went quiet in that way only Chicago can — not silent, but *listening*. The crack of the bat was almost gentle. Then the sound that followed was not gentle at all. It rolled up from the 300-level, bounced off the brick, and swallowed every voice. You could feel it in your chest before you heard it. That's the night. That's the one they'll tell their kids about.

Reader's Guide

The 2008 ALCS was a seven-game series between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, won by the Rays. No Chicago White Sox player named Gonzalez had a defining moment in a Game 4 of that series, as the White Sox were eliminated in the ALDS.

Did You Know?

• The 2008 ALCS did not involve the Chicago White Sox; the White Sox lost in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays.
• Wrigley Field is the home of the Chicago Cubs, not the White Sox. The White Sox play at U.S. Cellular Field (now Guaranteed Rate Field).
• The White Sox roster in 2008 did not feature a player named Gonzalez who had a defining moment in a Game 4 ALCS, which did not exist for the White Sox that year.