Sometimes it's not your day, sometimes it's not your season. The Chicago White Sox learned that lesson (once again) the hard way in a 4-3 loss (box score) against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night. The White Sox, who had allowed the Rangers to take the lead in the top half of the inning, appeared to be en route to a walk-off victory when Andrew Vaughn lifted a ball deep to left field that seemed destined for the stands.
Then Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski interfered and made one of the season's best and least probable catches. Observe said robbery in all its moving picture glory:
JANKOWSKI GOT THE SAVE!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY UNREAL!!!#StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/R69zZZ9NBm
— Bally Sports Southwest (@BallySportsSW) August 29, 2024
Jankowski, 33, had only been inserted into the game moments earlier, as a defensive replacement for Wyatt Langford. Clearly manager Bruce Bochy made the right decision.
"The hang time was perfect," Jankowski told reporters of his game-saving grab, calling it a "once-in-a-lifetime play." "If it was a foot farther, [it's] probably out of my reach. … It's the perfect alignment. We were playing deep. I was [shaded] pull side, so a little bit deeper than I probably should have been. Just everything lined up perfect. Timed the jump pretty good, and thank God it stayed in my mitt."
Jankowski has been unable to match last year's surprising offensive outpouring. In 84 games, he's batted .195/.257/.234 (43 OPS+) with a home run and eight stolen bases (on nine tries). Nevertheless, he's remained a skilled defender whose glove has been worth three Outs Above Average, according to Statcast's calculations.
As for the White Sox, it's the latest in a long, long line of losses this season. Jankowski's robbery meant that Chicago dropped both sides of Wednesday's doubleheader. The White Sox are now 31-103 on the season, putting them on pace to lose 125 games. The 1962 New York Mets possess the modern Major League Baseball record for most losses in a single season, with 120; just two teams have cleared 115 losses. The White Sox, then, appear to be very much on their way toward making even more dubious history.