The White Sox will open up their season Thursday in Houston to face off against the Astros. They will also share with the rest of the MLB world in seeing Jose Abreu don the Astros' threads for the first time ever.
“It’ll be like seeing (Michael) Jordan in a Wizards uniform… It’ll be weird," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said to ESPN's Buster Olney.
That's a pretty good analogy for Abreu. He spent the first nine seasons of his career with the South Siders. Coming up in the league in 2014, Abreu earned the AL Rookie of the Year award and successfully grabbed the torch from Paul Konerko at first base.
Throughout his career with the Sox, he earned three All-Star nods, three Silver Sluggers and the American League MVP award in 2020. He's a White Sox icon and one of the most respected team members in the clubhouse.
His presence will be missed in the White Sox' clubhouse.
"Obviously, it's always a difficult day from an emotional standpoint or from a fan standpoint, when you see a franchise icon don another uniform. It's a day that nobody really ever envisions seeing but the realities of the business side sometimes dictate that such things happen," Hahn said in November.
MLB
Looking ahead, the White Sox will be moving forward with third-year Andrew Vaughn at first base. Vaughn is one of the team's best hitters, known for his plate discipline and power at the plate.
Last season, Vaughn slashed .271/.321/.429 from the plate while playing the majority of the last season (89 games) in the outfield. Vaughn's natural position is first base. Most speculate he will fair better from the plate now that he won't need to expend energy in the outfield.
Lucas Giolito said during the offseason he believes Vaughn will have the best "comeback" year. Vaughn not having suffered an injury last season to place him under the category of having a "comeback" season.
Vaughn is following in the footsteps of great White Sox first basemen. Before him came Abreu, Konerko and Frank Thomas. All three are considered White Sox greats. The pressure of living up to their standards doesn't faze Vaughn, however.
"Those are Hall of Fame caliber players. Incredible pedigree," Vaughn said on the White Sox Talk podcast. "But I just got to go be me. I can't try to hold myself to those expectations. I have to go prove myself every day, because if I'm looking at trying to be Frank Thomas, trying to be Paul Konerko, trying to be Pito (Jose Abreu). They're not me, they're them. And they were phenomenal in what they did. But I have to do what I can do."
MORE: Vaughn talks continuing legacy of White Sox first basemen
Vaughn will get to work on showing what he can do on Thursday against the Astros. And he'll do it against his predecessor in Abreu.