Sox’ Sam Antonacci stuns with quiet confidence and walk-off

Sam Antonacci, a 23-year-old on the White Sox, has drawn unusually high praise for his baseball instincts and competitive mindset—from coaches who say he’s mentally ahead of peers—after delivering his first walk-off hit in a Sox uniform, a two-run single again

On Tuesday night, in the middle of a close game that felt like it could slip away at any second, Sam Antonacci came up with the one swing everyone remembers.

The White Sox’ 23-year-old had just delivered his first walk-off hit in a Sox uniform: a two-run single off Guardians closer Cade Smith. The ending wasn’t certain until umpires reviewed whether Tristan Peters had beaten the throw home. Confirmation triggered immediate chaos—jubilant teammates sprinting after Antonacci deep into the outfield.

Behind the celebrations was a player who. even with the moment in front of him. talks like someone who’s learned to keep his edge. Antonacci didn’t have a long. public history of being outspoken with his teammates; in fact. Francis co—correction—Francisco Cervelli said he barely heard a word from him when Antonacci was on Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

Cervelli. a former Yankees catcher who was preparing to manage Team Italy. said Julio Mosquera—a longtime friend and the White Sox’ catching coordinator—called him with a simple message. “You need to take Sam Antonacci,” Mosquera told Cervelli. “This guy is crazy. He plays with a lot of energy. He’s a baseball player. Take him.”.

Cervelli took him at his word. During the three weeks Antonacci was on the Italian roster. Cervelli said they “barely spoke.” “Believe it or not. ” Cervelli said by phone from the Netherlands. where he was managing the Italian national team in a tournament there. “in my three weeks with him. I heard ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye.’ Because he doesn’t talk. He’s very quiet.”.

But by the time Antonacci left Team Italy and returned to the Sox—still a minor-leaguer attending his first big-league camp—Cervelli said his view had changed. He and the coaching staff built around him. including Ron Wotus. a longtime coach with the Giants. and Frank Menechino. a former Sox hitting coach. came to believe they were looking at something rare.

“This guy is different than everybody else,” Cervelli said. “I think he’s going to be a great player. He’s one of these guys you’re going to go buy a ticket to see play because, if he plays today, you know he’s going to do something.”

Cervelli’s praise wasn’t just about talent. He described Antonacci as mentally ahead, saying he thinks fast and anticipates well. He said Antonacci does things he had only seen from players like Derek Jeter and Omar Vizquel. “In attitude and awareness, he reminds me of Vizquel. I think he learned how to play baseball a different way.”.

Wotus offered a blunt summation of effort: “He plays as hard as anybody that I’ve ever coached.”

Cervelli compared Antonacci’s mindset to a different kind of player—one who played without worrying about physical measurements. He brought up Dustin Pedroia. “They don’t care about their size. They act like they’re 6-foot-7.”

The right attitude

After the walk-off on Tuesday night, Antonacci stood in front of the Sox’ dugout speaking on camera to Brooke Fletcher, the team’s sideline reporter. Fletcher asked him whether he’d been frustrated after the Guardians scored two runs to take the lead in the top of the ninth.

Antonacci didn’t soften the point. “Baseball is a team sport,” he said to Fletcher. “If you’re mad about giving up two runs in the ninth, take your ass to go play tennis or play an individual sport.”

Brash or not, the exchange was a window into how he processes setbacks—quickly, and with a refusal to let one moment poison the next.

In the clubhouse later, Antonacci elaborated in the same vein. “You only have to worry about yourself,” he said. “That’s not how it works, he said, in baseball.”

He acknowledged how the walk-off felt, but he also made clear that celebration wasn’t the job. “Yes, he said, the walk-off was fun. ‘For, like, a few minutes,’ he said. ‘And then you know you’ve got a game to prepare for the next day.’”

Obsessed with getting on first base

For months, other coaches have described Antonacci in terms that fit what he showed on Tuesday night: a player who hunts for advantages and believes the simplest ones matter.

Heartland Community College baseball coach Chris Razo called Kevin Schnall, the baseball coach at Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina. Heartland had just won the national championship behind Antonacci, who was the JUCO Division II player of the year.

Razo said Antonacci had led the nation with a .515 batting average while driving in 103 runs in just 58 games. He also told Schnall that Antonacci’s family takes vacations in Myrtle Beach, and that he was interested in coming to play baseball for him.

Schnall. who was later hired to coach South Carolina. described Antonacci’s mentality as something his program wanted from day one. “It’s a big stress point in our program,” said Schnall. “We want our guys to be obsessed with getting on first base. Sam embraced that mentality, a guy who absolutely had a knack for getting to first base.”.

Schnall said they never told anyone to get hit by a pitch, but the program’s emphasis was clear: “We never tell anybody to get hit by a pitch, but our stress point is, ‘Don’t get out of the way.’”

That background matches what’s followed Antonacci into the majors. In 61 games at Coastal Carolina, he was hit by a pitch 27 times. Since his call-up from Triple-A Charlotte, he has been hit 15 times in 66 games with the Sox—league-leading. Along with 59 hits and 18 walks, those painful passes have helped shape his team-leading .386 on-base percentage.

Passion for winning

The competitive edge Antonacci carries isn’t just coming from his own instincts. Frank Menechino—who played for the Sox after being a 45th-round draft pick in 1993 and later returned as a hitting coach for two stints in the big leagues—said he recognized the mindset immediately after working with him.

Menechino said that after serving as the hitting coach for Team Italy. where he had both Antonacci and Kyle Teel. he texted Sox general manager Chris Getz. “I text Getzie and I say, ‘I love these guys. Where were these guys when I was there?’ ” Menechino said. He said the best way to sum up Antonacci is “old-school savvy vs. new school.”.

“He plays the game to win,” Menechino said. “He plays the game hard. He has an edge to him. He’s always looking to get an edge, and he doesn’t care if he fails. Then I see him getting hit by pitches and stuff. and I’m like. ‘I love this guy.’ The competitive edge and the baseball IQ are off the charts. He had All-Stars on Team USA playing back on their heels.”.

Sox manager Will Venable has reshaped the team’s culture with a group of young players who share Antonacci’s hunger. Menechino said. “That’s contagious. as opposed to when you have a couple or three or four guys on the team that are lazy. don’t do [expletive]. don’t do what they’re supposed to. get paid and shut it down. ” Menechino said.

He continued: “That’s also contagious and frustrating. So they changed the culture over there, which is great to see.”

Where the Sox stand now

Antonacci’s first walk-off hit in a Sox uniform didn’t just deliver a win; it made his temperament impossible to ignore. One day he’s quiet enough that Cervelli says he heard only “hello” and “goodbye” over three weeks on Team Italy. The next. he’s drawing a hard line around what anger is allowed to do—telling reporters and fans that frustration after letting in two runs doesn’t belong on a team sport field.

And in the numbers that followed him into the majors—league-leading hit-by-pitches since his call-up, a .386 on-base percentage, 59 hits and 18 walks—there’s a clear through line: he’s built for moments that demand urgency, and for games that demand the next one too.

In a season where each win can feel like a statement, Antonacci’s walk-off came wrapped in the same contradiction that’s defined his rise so far: he doesn’t talk much, but when it matters, he moves.

Sam Antonacci Chicago White Sox walk-off hit Guardians Cade Smith Tristan Peters Francisco Cervelli Julio Mosquera Ron Wotus Frank Menechino Will Venable baseball MLB news