Respect 70? White Sox believe reaching a certain win total this season would be a sign

For the 11th consecutive season, the White Sox won’t be playing in October.

The White Sox have had enough.

For the 11th consecutive season, the Sox won’t be playing in October. And their loss on Thursday to the Royals assured the Sox of their seventh straight sub-.500 season.

But maybe — just maybe — the Sox can find solace in achieving something they haven’t done since the Cubs last won the World Series.

The Sox haven’t reached the 70-win mark in a season since 2016 when they finished 78-84. But this season, they have a chance.

Entering Saturday’s game against the Mariners in Seattle, the Sox are 65-82 with 15 games left.

Would it mean something for the Sox to win at least 70 games?

Manager Rick Renteria entertained the idea.

“Symbolically, maybe yes,” he said. “More than anything, we’re just trying to get these guys through this season playing as consistent as they can and healthy.”

For third baseman Yoan Moncada, it would be tangible evidence the Sox are heading in the right direction.

“Even though it’s just a number we know that we can win more games than that — whatever the final mark is,” Moncada said through a translator. “But it’s always good to see that you’re progressing in the win column, and I think this has been a better year than the last two.”

The Sox have had plenty of individual successes this season.

Moncada has made a smooth transition to third base and has recorded 23 homers and 72 RBI, both career highs. Right-hander Lucas Giolito has become the team’s best starting pitcher, posting a 3.41 ERA, which is nearly 2.75 points lower than his league-worst mark last season. And shortstop Tim Anderson, who missed most of July with an ankle injury, has had a great year at the plate. Entering Saturday, he led the majors with a .334 batting average, though his defense continues to be a work in progress.

“They’re not finished,” Renteria said of the Sox’ most improved players this season. “They’re still going to continue to grow and improve. When you’re looking at players that have such high talent, they will continue to evolve over time and even hopefully show us signs of greatness.”

A lot of the younger talent — like Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease — are getting more experience playing at the big-league level, too. Both of whom have shown flashes of their elite potential through their fair share of growing pains. And not to mention, the Sox also have a stacked pool of top prospects — including Luis Robert, Michael Kopech and Nick Madrigal — who didn’t play with the Sox this season.

Sure, the strides of the major-league players and minor-league prospects give hope for the future, but that doesn’t take away from the frustrations of another lost season.

Renteria pledged next season will be different.

“I’m expecting that this is it,” he said. “We are finishing this season, we are talking about coming into next season ready to battle, period, exclamation point. That’s what we are looking to do.”

Moncada is also optimistic for what’s to come.

“The future is looking pretty good for us,” Moncada said. “We have a lot of talent here. And not just here in this clubhouse but there’s [young talent] coming up in the minors. ... We’re going to be pretty good.”