Jeff Passan addresses ESPN’s pattern of overlooking 2005 White Sox

Jeff Passan spent part of his week talking to White Sox fans about something ESPN doesn’t usually acknowledge.

The senior MLB insider appeared on the From the 108 podcast and addressed ESPN’s bizarre track record with the White Sox’s 2005 World Series. It wasn’t an apology exactly, but it was an acknowledgment that White Sox fans have legitimate gripes about how the network has covered that title run.

“I mean, you wouldn’t know if you watched ESPN,” Passan said when the hosts brought up the 2005 championship. “You know what? I hate that White Sox fans look at ESPN and say, ‘They don’t acknowledge or care about the White Sox.’ We f*cked up a few times, though. Like not addressing the existence of 2005.

“I remember being on TV when we had Danny Mendick as Danny Medwick, I think it was. I was looking at it, and I was like, ‘No, that’s wrong! No! No, not the White Sox!'”

Jeff Passan personally apologizes to White Sox fans for ESPN not acknowledging the 2005 Champs pic.twitter.com/dCloc1y76j

— Section 108 (@fromthe108) January 24, 2026

That misspelling is hardly the worst offense. Last July, during ESPN’s coverage of the MLB Draft, a graphic incorrectly touted Chris Burke as a 2005 World Series champion. Chris Burke played for the Houston Astros. The Astros lost to the White Sox in that World Series. They got swept. They didn’t win a game. ESPN credited the wrong team’s player with the championship.

A.J. Pierzynski, who caught every pitch of that series, called it out immediately on social media. At that point, White Sox beat writers covering the 20th-anniversary reunion had spent the previous days asking players whether they felt they received proper respect for what they accomplished. The answer was consistently no.

Days before the Chris Burke mistake, ESPN announced Bobby Jenks’ death by writing that he “was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series.” Bobby Jenks wasn’t just on the roster. He closed out the World Series. He stood on the mound at Minute Maid Park when Juan Uribe fielded the ground ball and threw to Paul Konerko for the final out that ended an 88-year championship drought. Jenks pitched in all four games of that series.

Reducing him to someone who happened to be around when something historic occurred undersold his importance to that run. ESPN eventually posted a follow-up tribute video from the White Sox after getting hammered for the framing, but the original post — the one hundreds of thousands of people saw — treated one of the key figures on that championship team like a benchwarmer.

These aren’t isolated mistakes. They’re examples of what White Sox fans have been enduring for years, which is why Passan addressed it directly on the podcast.

“I promise you, none of this is ever personal,” Passan said. “White Sox fans, who are listening right now, I love you guys. And I love you guys because I see what you’re going through, and you’re still fans. And that’s a really hard thing to do. It’s hard for any fan to go through what you guys have over the last four years. It’s been incredibly tough. And if you stick with something like this, you’ll never know it, you’ll never actually be able to tangibly measure it, you will enjoy the eventual championship more than anyone.”

White Sox fans who’ve stuck through the last few years will appreciate the next championship whenever it comes. But they’d probably also appreciate ESPN remembering the last one happened.