Will the Toronto Blue Jays bring cold with them to the Chicago White Sox home opener at 3:10 p.m. Thursday at Rate Field? Or will fans be able to wear the T-shirt giveaway without a jacket on top?
Conditions have varied during season openers at the ballpark. Here’s what to expect, plus the warmest and coldest home openers for the White Sox.
What’s the forecast for Thursday’s home opener?
The high will be 68 degrees with a 100% chance of showers and thunderstorms, according to the National Weather Service Chicago office.
What’s normal for April 2 in Chicago?
The normal high is 54 degrees, with a low of 36. A trace of rain is usually observed too.
Does cold weather matter for a White Sox home opener?
Spoiler: It probably makes a bigger difference for fans.
Photos: What to eat at Chicago White Sox games this season at Rate Field
Since 1989 — when box scores for Major League Baseball games began to include weather conditions at the ballpark at the time of first pitch — the White Sox are 20-17 in their home openers.
Pitcher Sean Burke made a memorable opener in 2025
Chicago White Sox pitcher Sean Burke (59) walks through the dugout after pitching during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels on opening day at Rate Field in Chicago on March 27, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The right-hander became just the seventh pitcher in the last 100 years to start on opening day with fewer than 20 career innings pitched in the majors.
The sun — and pitcher Garrett Crochet — shined in the Chicago White Sox’s first home game of the 2024 season
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) follows through on a pitch in the fifth inning of the Sox opening day game against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on March 28, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
But the Sox couldn’t get anything going offensively in a 1-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers in front of 33,420 fans on March 28, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The sky — and the scoreboard — spoiled the White Sox’s first home game of the 2023 season
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech (34) yells after San Francisco Giants third baseman David Villar (32) hit a homer for the fourth run in the fifth inning during the White Sox home opener at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on April 3, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The game time was moved up because of rain, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Sox 12-3 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
In 2022, fans had much to celebrate
The opening ceremony concludes for the Chicago White Sox home opener against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on April 12, 2022. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
With a mix of music blasting through speakers, smoke from barbecues, plenty of cold beer and perfect baseball weather, the return of tailgating was just one of many things White Sox fans had to celebrate during their 3-2 victory in the home opener against the Seattle Mariners at Guaranteed Rate Field.
In 2021, it rained
Fans wait out a rain delay before the Chicago White Sox home opener against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field on April 8, 2021 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
A rain delay on opening day at Guaranteed Rate Field meant White Sox fans had to wait a little more than two hours before observing their home-opener traditions: booing Illinois politicians — Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in this case — and cheering for longtime head groundskeeper Roger “The Sodfather” Bossard.
The temperature at first pitch (5:22 p.m.) was 58 degrees with 2 mph winds from the south and southeast, per Tribune columnist and baseball writer Paul Sullivan.
The weather didn’t seem to deter the home team. Lance Lynn threw a five-hit shutout, and the Sox defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-0 in front of 8,207 fans.
The extremes
The White Sox experienced extreme weather at home games seven years apart, almost to the day.
COLDEST: 37 degrees (April 4, 2003)
Four White Sox fans pause to observe a moment of silence for U.S. troops in Iraq prior to the White Sox home opener on April 4, 2003, at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune)
The first White Sox game to be played inside the freshly renamed U.S. Cellular Field had the ingredients for a memorable home opener. More than 40,000 fans were expected to watch the Sox face the Detroit Tigers. A massive video screen in center field, nearly twice the size of the previous one, was among offseason improvements to the stadium in anticipation of hosting the MLB All-Star Game on July 15, 2003 — 70 years after the first one took place at Comiskey Park, the idea of Chicago Tribune sports editor Arch Ward. And the governor was scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch.
Instead of arriving to cheers from the home crowd, however, the winless team took the field to boos.
“If you don’t execute or perform, then I don’t necessarily take it that personally because it’s about the performance,” Sox manager Jerry Manuel said. “If my performance is not good, then they should boo.”
And the ceremonial first pitch? It was thrown by then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — also booed by fans — who “bounced” it.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich throws out the first pitch at the Chicago White Sox home opener on April 4, 2003, in Chicago. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
When 22-mph winds and a two-hour rain delay arrived shortly thereafter, the players and fans were left with, well, wet socks. It was only when the grounds crew peeled back the tarp at 4:29 p.m. that fans cheered.
“The man most worthy of applause was groundskeeper Roger Bossard, whose field survived the Great Opening Day Flood of ’03,” Tribune reporter Teddy Greenstein wrote.
Magglio Ordonez singled home Jose Valentin in the first inning. And Joe Crede ripped a two-run home run an inning later. The Sox were up 4-0.
“With the wind here, you never know how it will carry,” Crede said. “I want to say the wind had a little help with that.”
Sox right-hander Esteban Loaiza took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, later telling reporters the cold, wet weather was a shock compared with the warmth at spring training: “It was really hard to adjust after coming from the heat in Tucson.” He was pulled in the seventh inning after walking Carlos Pena with two outs.
White Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza delivers during Chicago’s 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on April 4, 2003, at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. (Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune)
Closer Billy Koch — who also was booed by fans for bombing his first save opportunity in a Sox uniform the day before — struck out the side in the ninth to give the Sox their first win of the season, 5-2.
WARMEST: 75 degrees (April 5, 2010)
Frann Carnivele-Sidlow of Oak Forest cheers as the Chicago White Sox are introduced before playing the Cleveland Indians at U.S. Cellular Field on April 5, 2010. (Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune)
The next day’s Tribune summed up the White Sox’s 6-0 shutout of the Cleveland Indians, well, perfectly — “For openers, it was just about perfect.”
The weather was gorgeous, Mark Buehrle pitched three-hit ball over seven innings and first baseman Paul Konerko hit a two-run home run before a sellout crowd of 38,935 at U.S. Cellular Field. Right fielder Alex Rios added a solo blast and ended the game with a diving catch.
Buehrle — fresh off his first career Gold Glove Award — was starting his 10th full season and his club-record eighth home opener. In addition to his impressive 95-pitch outing, the left-hander also turned in a spectacular play in the field.
Mark Buehrle flips the ball backward between his legs to throw out Cleveland Indians’ Lou Marson at first base in the fifth inning on MLB opening day at U.S. Cellular Field on April 5, 2010. (Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune)
“The kick-save, collision-avoiding, between-the-legs flip to Paul Konerko that dumbfounded (Lou) Marson — the best fielding play I’ve ever seen — proved how much he loves his work,” Tribune reporter Phil Rogers wrote.
Sources: National Weather Service Chicago; Tribune archives and reporting
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