Sometimes, you just have to support your team while you're at work. So, it's a good thing that a baseball hat works with pretty much any work attire, even a papal cassock.
Pope Leo XIV, the world's most famous White Sox fan, was photographed on Wednesday donning the team's hat during a public appearance at the Vatican.
"I read something about that,” said a smiling White Sox manager Will Venable prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Astros at Daikin Park. “Yeah, I mean, it’s great. I love the support. Need it.”
"It’s pretty cool,” White Sox rookie reliever Grant Taylor said. “Worldwide, baseball is growing a lot more. But in Europe, it’s not very big. So if he’s over there in the Vatican wearing a White Sox hat, maybe all of them will become White Sox fans. Grow the fanbase a little bit.”
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, given what we've learned about the new pope in the month-plus he's been on the job. The Chicago native has cheered for the South Siders for some time, having even attended the 2005 World Series. His Holiness' hat choice may have just been a way for him to prep for Chicago's game on Wednesday against the Astros, coincidentally a rematch of that '05 Fall Classic.
Whatever the reason, there's still time to add a White Sox hat to the mural honoring the new pope the team unveiled at Rate Field earlier this year.
Rate Field will play host to a celebration of the Chicago-born pontiff on Saturday put on by the Archdiocese of Chicago, featuring the premiere of a video message from Pope Leo XIV to young people of the world.
Taylor made his Major League debut Tuesday night, pitching a scoreless seventh and topping 100 mph with six of his 12 pitches. With the strong support kept in mind, Pope Leo XIV could have been watching or reading about that momentous first outing for the No. 6 White Sox prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
“The thought did come across,” said Taylor with a laugh. “I was joking with my family today, I was like, ‘I wonder if the Pope knows my name.’”
Venable wondered about the same topic in regard to his notoriety.
“If he’s a fan and locked into who the manager is, hopefully,” said Venable, who admitted he never thought of that idea before Wednesday. “But I’m just glad that he’s supportive of the White Sox. That’s awesome.”