 The White Sox celebrate victory after the final out | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | September 30, 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | U.S. Cellular Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,354 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | TBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Dick Stockton, Ron Darling and Harold Reynolds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN KSTP (MIN) WSCR (CHW) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | ESPN: Dan Shulman and Dave Campbell KSTP: John Gordon and Dan Gladden WSCR: Ed Farmer and Steve Stone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2008 American League Central tie-breaker game, was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2008 regular season, played between the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins to determine the champion of the American League's (AL) Central Division. It was played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 30, 2008. The White Sox won the game, 1–0, on a home run by Jim Thome, the lowest-scoring game in MLB tie-breaker history. The Sox advanced to the 2008 AL Division Series, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 3 games to 1; the Twins failed to qualify for the postseason.
The game was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 88–74. The White Sox won a coin flip late in the season which, by rule, awarded them home field in the game. The tie-breaker counted as the 163rd regular season game by both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.