Twenty years after their historic championship run, the 2005 Chicago White Sox remain one of only two teams in MLB history to go 11-1 in the postseason. This documentary “‘05 Forever” is an emotional new documentary about how the Chicago White Sox won the 2005 World Series, as told by the players themselves.
As a lifelong diehard Chicago White Sox fan, I was curious on how good this documentary is gonna be and it did not disappoint. “‘05 Forever” is more than a documentary – it’s a heartfelt reunion. With raw interviews, powerful highlights and a moving tribute to Bobby Jenks, it captures the heart and hustle of a team that defied the odds. While the absence of some key voices is sure to bother White Sox fans, the film delivers a nostalgic and emotional celebration every White Sox fan should see.
The documentary begins with several key members of the team discussing how they needed to build a grinder team with balanced offense, defense, and pitching to win the World Series. Featured members include First Baseman Paul Konerko, Assistant General Manager Rick Hahn, General Manager Kenny Williams and Manager Ozzie Guillen.
Under second year manager Guillen, the White Sox first acquired Outfielder Scott Podsednik, Pitcher Luiz Vizcaino from the Milwaukee Brewers, for Outfielder Carlos Lee, they signed Pitchers Orlando Hernandez from the New York Yankees and Dustin Hermanson from the San Francisco Giants, Outfielder Jermaine Dye from the Oakland Athletics, Infielder Tadahito Iguchi from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball, Catcher A.J Pierzynski from the San Francisco Giants and Pitcher Jenks from the Los Angeles Angels. This star-studded roster of exceptional players made a World Series run to remember.
I liked that there was B-roll of the story from the players’ point of view. We also get to hear from Guillen and the players talk about how the team had to come play 110 % every day and worked hard all season long. I really enjoyed the video they included of the team having fun and acting like goofballs, and not just working all the time. In one scene, we see Mark Buehrle sliding on the tarp like a slip n slide that got a laugh from the fans. Later, the documentary reminisces on how the iconic song by Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” became almost like an unofficial theme for the 2005 White Sox.
We also hear the story of how the White Sox almost let the division slip when the Cleveland Indians almost won the division championship on Sept. 29, 2005. We later hear how the White Sox came ready to play to win the World Series and become one of two MLB teams to win the World Series while going 11-1 in the playoffs, the only other team to achieve that being the 1999 New York Yankees. First, they swept the defending champion Boston Red Sox in the ALDS 3-0, then they beat the Los Angeles Angels in the ALCS 4-1. In the grand finale, they swept the Houston Astros 4-0 in the World Series to secure themselves as world champions.
One thing I wish they included was more player interviews. I wanted to hear from more players like Joe Crede, Juan Uribe, Neal Cotts, Hernandez and Cliff Politte, who were for some reason not included. For example, in game 3 of the ALDS against Boston, the Red Sox loaded the bases, and Pitcher Hernandez came in from the bullpen and got out of the bases-loaded jam. While it was nice to hear from his teammate José Contreras, I feel like we should hear it from Hernandez himself. Another example: in game 4 of the World Series, Uribe made an INCREDIBLE catch for the 2nd out, but he was not interviewed for this documentary. How come we don’t hear it from Uribe? It would have made it feel a bit smoother.
I did like hearing other players talk about big moments, like Konerko hitting a grand slam, and Podsednik’s walk-off home run in Game 2 of the World Series. It also included Jenks closing out games 1 and 4 in the World Series, and Dye’s game-winning RBI in game 4. I think it’s nice to hear from the players talking about their moments. I loved hearing Guillen and the players praising each other so much. It was heartwarming to see the team back together again.
During the production of this film, Jenks passed away from stomach cancer. The documentary paid tribute to him in episodes 3 and 4. The production crew did such a good job with this tribute that it made us tear up watching it. I really enjoyed every single second of his interview. Including his quote “The ring you can lose. The trophy can fade away, but the memories of what happened on the field and the moments you shared with your teammates will last forever”.
Overall, the production did a really good job with B-roll interviews and how they told the story of the 2005 Chicago White Sox as it happened. My main criticism is that they should have included more players like Crede, Uribe, Hernandez and many more. White Sox fans, you will not be disappointed. “‘05 Forever” gets a 10 out of 10 stars from me.
