CHICAGO (AP) — Luis Robert Jr. is blaming himself for the terrible season for the Chicago White Sox.
Robert said he feels embarrassed and responsible for what has happened to the White Sox, who were tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record of 120 losses entering Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.
“I see myself as one of the faces of this team,” Robert said through an interpreter. “When the faces of this team aren’t producing or struggling, you have a season like this. Again, that’s on us, that’s on me.”
One of the few bright spots on a team that lost 101 games last year, Robert has been a disappointment this year.
The 27-year-old Cuban center fielder missed two months after straining his right hip flexor at Kansas City on April 5. He was batting .224 with 14 homers and 36 RBIs entering Wednesday’s game, a big drop from a breakout season. Robert set career highs with 38 homers and 80 RBIs while making his first All-Star team in 2023.
Now he’s associated with one of the worst seasons in baseball history.
“Nobody can be happy to see … your name attached to a record like that,” he said. “But one year can’t define your career. One year can’t define your life. Life goes on and you can try to come back next year and do better and go from there. One year, one season, can’t define your career or your life.”
Robert is in the fifth season of a $50 million, six-year contract. Though the White Sox also have three more seasons of control with options for 2026 and 2027, it’s not clear where he will be playing next year.
General manager Chris Getz kept Robert and ace Garrett Crochet at the trade deadline. But they could be moved in the offseason.
“Personally, I’m just going to prepare myself to come back and do my best and try to help this team and try to do better,” he said. “I think one of the biggest parts of the bad season that we have as a team is because I haven’t been able to do what I’m able to do on the field.”