​Barack Obama represented Illinois’ 13th State Senate District on Chicago’s South Side from 1997 to 2004. As the junior senator from Illinois, Obama was selected by the Chicago White Sox to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Rate Field before an American League Championship Game in 2005.The White Sox haven’t been back to the ALCS in 21 seasons since. That became official on Saturday, when the Cleveland Guardians eliminated the White Sox in a winner-take-all ALDS Game 5.Obama, the 44th president of the United States and still a supporter of the South Side’s local MLB team, was paying attention.MORE: Dodgers remove utility infielder from roster immediately before NLCS“Proud of you, @WhiteSox, for making the jump this year! Next year will be even better!” Obama wrote on his official Twitter/X account.It’s no surprise that Obama would shout out the White Sox’s surprising season as a private citizen. In 2005, he introduced a resolution on the Senate floor recognizing the White Sox’s surprising World series sweep of the Houston Astros.The Sox’s season-ending loss was a heartbreaker.MORE: Pope Leo XIV sends message to White Sox before MLB postseasonAfter losing 100 games in three consecutive seasons — including a modern-record 121 losses in 2024 — Chicago stormed back to capture an AL wild-card berth in 2026.Their 84-78 season didn’t actually come out of nowhere. A full-scale youth movement, and the surprising success of first-year slugger Munetaka Murakami, catalyzed the South Siders’ turnaround. It only felt like it in a sense; no team had lost 100 games in three straight years and made the postseason in the fourth.MORE: Munetaka Murakami’s ‘drunk’ interview goes viral after White Sox winAfter the White Sox stunned the Astros in a two-game sweep of their AL wild-card series, they took a 2-0 lead on Cleveland in the best-of-five Division Series.The Guardians, however, won three straight to advance to the ALCS. At least a former president and a current Pope still have the White Sox’s back.—Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter—