South Side Sox Player of the Week (August 21-27): Gavin Sheets

All is quiet on the White Sox front.

All quiet, that is, except for the screaming bat of Gavin Sheets, who has slashed .435/.440/.652 over his last seven games.

With family watching from the stands in Baltimore, Sheets stepped up to the plate again and again, smacking eight hits across the three-game series.

There is definitely some sort of magic in the air at Camden Yards, where Gavin grew up watching baseball. His family, including former major-leaguer Larry Sheets, lived just a half hour’s drive from the ballpark. In July of last season, Sheets clobbered a homer in front of his hometown crowd, contributing to a 12-1 White Sox winner.

That series saw the Sox put up a total of 27 runs. Weren’t those the good ol’ days?

Sheets’ well-timed hot streak may well keep the team’s offense afloat. With the mediocre Sox still bobbing around the .500 mark, the weak Central Division title is still completely within reach.

The real question is whether anyone wants this agonizing season to last any longer than it has to. I don’t know that I do.

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2022 South Side Sox Players of the Week

Tim Anderson (April 8-17)
Tanner Banks (April 18-23)
Lucas Giolito (April 24-May 1)
Dylan Cease (May 2-8)
Michael Kopech (May 9-14)
Davis Martin (May 15-21)
Jake Burger (May 22-29)
Andrew Vaughn (May 30-June 5)
Jake Burger (June 6-12)
Johnny Cueto (June 13-18)
Andrew Vaughn (June 19-25)
Dylan Cease (June 26-July 2)
Lucas Giolito (July 3-9)
Dylan Cease (July 10-17) (no art/essay)
AJ Pollock (July 22-30)
Eloy Jiménez (July 31-August 6)
Michael Kopech (August 7-13)
Johnny Cueto (August 14-20)
Gavin Sheets (August 21-27)

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MVP Standings

Dylan Cease (124.4)
Johnny Cueto (89.0)
Michael Kopech (71.1)
Andrew Vaughn (55.0)
Luis Robert (25.9)
Lucas Giolito (26.3)
Eloy Jiménez (23.4)
Tanner Banks (23.3)
Jake Burger (19.4)
José Abreu (18.4)

Cold Cat Standings

Tony La Russa (-82.2)
Leury García (-64.1)
Yasmani Grandal (-46.8)
Josh Harrison (-44.9)
Yoán Moncada (-36.0)
Liam Hendriks (-35.6)
Kendall Graveman (-30.6)
Joe Kelly (-30.5)
Tim Anderson (-23.8)
Rick Hahn (-17.0)

With his POTW performance, Gavin Sheets swung from No. 10 on Cold Cats to a positive, though not Top 10, MVP vote. Meanwhile Rick Hahn now joins Tony La Russa on the Cold Cats list; it’s unprecedented to have even one non-player make the Cold Cats, much less two.

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Writer Standings

It is still the Indianapolis Field Office, O’Keefe and Resis, atop the standings, although Chrystal’s lead is shrinking, and Jacki Krestel is trying to muscle into the race as well. Only five writers with a coverage record better than .500!

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If you’re interested in seeing more of Mitch’s work, or if you’d like to purchase original drawings or prints, contact him via Twitter (@soxsketcher), Instagram (@southsidesharpie), or by e-mail at southsidesharpie@gmail.com. Thanks for supporting local artists!