Earlier this week the Chicago White Sox took their team picture. I have no idea if they are presenting fans with copies or not. Given the way the season went, I’m not sure they want to weaponize an already angry fanbase.

And while a photo merely captures a specific moment in time, I don’t think a mid-September shot is representative of what’s transpired this season. The team that has been taking the field the past few weeks looks nothing like the one that came north in late March with hope. I don’t know if taking the group shot in mid–June would have changed the outcome, but when one looks back 3 years from now, it might help explain what happened and what went wrong.

I know several fans that have collected Topps team sets of their favorite team each year. The problem with baseball cards is the timing. Some years a set is more representative of the previous season’s roster than the current year.

While many of the big changes in the Sox roster came via the deadline and waiver deals, even the best fans may have forgotten about players who contributed only in April or May.

I’m not sure when the 2023 Cubs took their photo, but I’m betting Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer had already been jettisoned. Yet, they were key figures coming out of Mesa. Furthermore, rookies like Nelson Vasquez, Jared Young, and Matt Mervis are long gone. No, I’m not forgetting Tucker Barnhart and Edwin Rios.

When this club wins the World Series all of the aforementioned will likely get a share of the booty, but the hype around Mervis will likely fade out. Does everyone remember how we got to meet his family? It was Trevor Williams all over again. It’s impossible to get a single picture with everyone that suits up for a team in a single season.

Over the years, I’ve amassed a nice collection of team photos. Some of them are more important to me than others. I have the last team photo from the Clinton LumberKings (2019). Of course, nobody knew it at the time that the Marlins would close out their affiliated ball history.

I’m assuming that all professional sports expansion teams take team photos on Opening Day or soon after. The smarter franchises and front offices use these photos from horrible seasons to mark how far they’ve come. No doubt that when a new leader takes over a franchise, he’s got records of who was there in the beginning.

Sox new GM, Chris Getz, might not like the hand he’s been dealt, but he can compare team photos for the next decade and self-scout. I think it was Fred Flintstone who said, a picture is worth 1,000 words.