Twins–White Sox rivalry

AL Central neighbors whose rivalry peaked in the 2008 one-game playoff.

The Twins–White Sox rivalry is the Major League Baseball rivalry between the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox, both members of the American League Central. Both clubs were founding members of the American League and have played each other every year since 1901, when the Twins were the Washington Senators and the White Sox the White Stockings, but the rivalry only took shape in the 2000s, when the two teams battled for the AL Central crown year after year. The White Sox lead the all-time series 1,199–1,134–15, and the clubs have never met in the postseason.

Quick Facts

Location

Midwestern United States

First meeting

June 2, 1901
South Side Park, Chicago, Illinois
Senators 7, White Stockings 5

Latest meeting

August 30, 2026
Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Twins 5, White Sox 1

Stadiums

Twins: Target Field; White Sox: Rate Field

Total meetings

2,348

Largest victory

Twins
20–1 (May 21, 2009); White Sox
20–2 (June 17, 1956)

Longest win streak

Twins
10 (September 8, 1965–June 12, 1966); White Sox
13 (July 29, 1909–May 10, 1910)

Current win streak

Twins, 1

Facts from the source article.

Background

The teams became regional rivals after the Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961; the Twins won the 1965 pennant by seven games over the second-place White Sox, but inconsistent play through the 1970s and 1980s kept a rivalry from developing. The Twins won the AL West in 1991 by eight games over the White Sox on the way to a World Series title, and the White Sox won the division in 1993 before both clubs moved to the new AL Central in 1994. The Twins took three straight division titles from 2002 to 2004 with the Sox second each year. The most prominent meeting came in the 2008 tie-breaker game, forced when the two finished with identical records; the White Sox won it 1–0 on a Jim Thome home run. The series matters especially in the Upper Midwest, where the two fan bases overlap in Wisconsin and Iowa.