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Every so often, baseball and the outside world collide in ways that feel more mythic than real. On the latest episode of "Baseball Bar-B-Cast," hosts Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman reveled in one such moment: when the brand-new pope turned out to be a Chicago White Sox fan.
Let’s break down why this story became instant baseball legend.
First American pope bleeds black and white
A new pope is big news. But this one hits different. As Mintz says, “All of religious history has led up to this. Yes, my dear friends, the pope is a White Sox fan.”
It’s the sort of news that, as podcasters, you can’t wait to get behind the mic for. “There just isn’t a better feeling,” Shusterman notes, than being gifted “so much incredible stuff to talk about.”
When news broke that Pope Leo XIV hails from Chicago, speculation erupted: Cubs or White Sox? Initially, reports — and even the Cubs’ own social media! — leaned Cubs, but then the story pivoted.
The family speaks out: Sox over Cubs
It wasn’t until the pope’s own brother appeared in an interview that the truth emerged. “He’s always been a White Sox fan,” the brother declared. Despite the family split (mother: Cubs; father: Cardinals), the pope stayed loyal to the South Side.
Mintz summarizes the stance: “He’s not just, yeah, he liked the White Sox, and then they move on. He’s like, yeah, I don’t know where all this Cub stuff is coming from. He’s always been a White Sox fan.”
As Shusterman adds, “This man is not just, you know, grew up and thought Luis Aparicio was cool. This guy … has been into the Sox for a long time now.”
The ultimate proof? A photo from the 2005 World Series featuring His Holiness at a White Sox game, Nokia phone in hand, basking in the glory of Chicago’s first championship in generations.
“Going to a World Series game as a fan is an expensive thing to do," Mintz says. "... This is someone who had opinions on Mark Buehrle. Now he’s the pope.”
The pope of the poorly run
Does it fit? Jake and Jordan think so. “The White Sox are what you would call a poverty franchise," Mintz says. "And what is the pope supposed to do if not take care of the poor?”
They laugh, but there’s truth there: A team starved for hope and leadership now has a weird, cosmic link to the Vatican’s top spot.
The hosts muse about what this could mean for the franchise. “If the White Sox, along with his guidance … can rise,” Jordan says, “maybe some divine influence will help.”
The White Sox themselves quickly embraced the connection. They sent a custom jersey and hat straight to the Vatican and invited the pontiff to his “cathedral” at 35th and Shields.
Will the pope show his Sox colors?
Don’t expect the pope to be rocking a fitted cap from the balcony or tossing out a first pitch, at least not according to precedent. But Pope Francis (a fan of Argentina’s San Lorenzo) held up plenty of soccer scarves and jerseys, so maybe we’ll see Pope Leo XIV do the same.
Mintz can't resist asking: “If the pope comes out here and is like, ‘I don’t want robo umps,’ does that move the needle?”
But as Jordan and Jake both note, the larger point is the narrative: “Some things are bigger than baseball,” the White Sox said in a statement, “and in this case, we’re glad to have a White Sox fan represented at the Vatican.”
This intersection of faith and fandom is the kind of bit that only baseball can provide. The new pope is a White Sox fan — documented and witnessed. Cubs fans might grumble, but for a franchise starved for miracles, this moment offers hope, humor and maybe, just maybe, a prayer for the South Side.
For more of the latest baseball news and debates, tune in to "Baseball-Bar-B-Cast" on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.