Luis Robert Jr. is taking the blame for the disappointing season of the Chicago White Sox.
Robert expressed that he feels embarrassed and accountable for the team’s struggles, especially since the White Sox were close to matching the modern major league record for losses set by the 1962 New York Mets.
“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.”
Despite being one of the few bright spots last year when the team lost 101 games, Robert has underperformed this season.
The 27-year-old Cuban center fielder was sidelined for two months after injuring his right hip flexor on April 5. He entered Wednesday’s game batting .224 with 14 home runs and 36 RBIs, a significant drop from his breakout season when he had career highs of 38 home runs and 80 RBIs, making his first All-Star team in 2023.
Now, he finds himself linked to 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 currently in the fifth year of a $50 million, six-year contract. While the White Sox have control over him for three more seasons, including options for 2026 and 2027, it’s uncertain where he will play next year.
General manager Chris Getz decided to keep Robert and pitcher Garrett Crochet at the trade deadline, but they could be traded 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.”
