From the Locker Room: TA finally celebrates a clinch day

It was a quiet game for the vocal leader, but a lot of happiness afterward

Still a rather young man, but a veteran on this Chicago White Sox team, shortstop Tim Anderson felt jubilation and relief after he had his first postseason ticket punched in Thursday's win over the Twins.

"It definitely means a lot," Anderson smiled postgame. "It’s been a minute [since the White Sox have been in the postseason]. We're bringing some more excitement back to the South Side and giving reasons for fans to be excited ... It’s been awhile, it's been awhile. Couldn't be happier to be in the mix, but we gotta keep going, man."

By all accounts, one of Tim's longtime teammates, José Abreu, was relatively giddy over the development. What did the two MVP candidates say to one another after the game?

"Just a big hug," Anderson grinned. He was here before me. But we’ve been here. We’re heading in the right direction."

Like teammate Eloy Jiménez, TA was impressed by Abreu's wheels on his seventh-inning infield single.

"That’s huge," Anderson said. "[It says] the game is never over. For a guy like Pito to beat that ball out, it sends a message that we all need to be hustling."

As for clinching the playoffs at home, but without fans, TA was steadfast: "We know they're watching."

Asked whether the world should be paying more attention to the team that was the first to clinch the postseason in the American League, Anderson again just grinned.

"It should. We’re playing heckuva ball. We’re not worried about that. They’ll talk about us. We don’t worry about that. We just worry about winning games. Now it’s on to the next … to see what else can we do."

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Tim Anderson video courtesy of the Chicago White Sox.