Two shot inside White Sox Park

Mere hours after our Chrystal O’Keefe asked the amorphous question of White Sox ownership Has Reinsdorf Ever Cared?, the ballclub was thrown a new challenge, as two women fans in Section 161 or 162 were injured by a discharged bullet early in Friday’s 12-4 loss to Oakland.

No matter how bizarre the squares on the 2023 White Sox bingo card are, the franchise fails to meet any and all challenges, as the club saw fit to continue the game and not inform fans there had even been an incident — even as blood was visible in the stands, the affected section was vacated, and a heavily-armed police presence began to form outside the park.

CPD

We don’t have all the facts, and perhaps never will. The White Sox statement on the shooting does little more than defray responsibility by suggesting a shot(s) that caused minor surface injury to two separate fans could have been fired from outside the park.

Chicago White Sox

Of course, first, best wishes for a quick return to full health to both of the fans affected on Friday.

Next, yes, it is fair to surmise the investigation on the spot determined no danger, no loaded gun(s) moving around the stands, no major security breakdown, and so on. That’s reasonable, and likely to be true ... but still, the notion that even in the White Sox statement the gun being inside the park can’t be dismissed is a huge flag.

However, then, why the decision to cancel the postgame “I Love the 90s” concert that was the reason for almost 22,000 fans showing up to see teams combining for 170 losses already this year?

If the reason for the cancellation was that a loaded gun could have been wandering around out there in the stands, there is nothing about a postgame concert (featuring fewer of those 22,000 fans at the game, surely) being held that’s more dangerous than a baseball game, hours earlier.

Two of our own staffers, Jacki Krestel and Dante Jones, were at the game, communicating with us through some of the confusion and disappointment of the proceedings. Both arrived home safely, though Ice-free.

Jacki Krestel

We are used to defending our White Sox from black eyes, because this team gets sucker-punched more than any. But when the injuries come from punching itself in the face, as has been the case almost all season, and a characteristic of the club’s entire 2020s so far?

Sorry Sox, can’t help you.

We will update this story if new information or twists arise. Until then, strap it down and wait for the next impossible thing this season, because it’s likely coming at our very next game.

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