5 Things White Sox Fans Can Look Forward To This Season

CHICAGO, IL - Opening Day is finally here. And for the first time in quite a few years, fans of the Chicago White Sox have something on their side. Direction.

After years of mediocrity and failed attempts of bringing in older players to crack into the playoffs, the team finally began tearing down the pieces last year in hopes of building a winner for years to come.

As the Good Guys take the field for the first time for real in 2018 today in Kansas City, let's take a look at five things fans of the South Siders can look forward to this season.

1. The End Of An Era: As the rebuild process begins, 2018 will also mark the final year for a constant face of the franchise. Television broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson has announced that 2018 will be his final year in the booth before he takes on an ambassador role with the team. Love him or hate him, the Hawk's famous calls such as "He Gone," "Can of Corn" and "You can put it on the board... YES!" have been the most consistent mark of the franchise since the 1980s. READ MORE: Season-Long Celebration Planned For Hawk Harrelson's Swan Song

2. Nothing To Lose: The White Sox will trot out one of the youngest groups of players they have in years. Their Opening Day roster includes players between 22 and 33 years of age, meaning no one on the current team was even born yet during the team's 1983 "Winning Ugly" playoff run. Of course that means a playoff run in 2018 is unlikely, but with baseball experts consistently picking the team to finish last in the American League Central, anything that isn't that could be a pleasant surprise. It will be nice to see how the young group of players develops in a season that brings absolutely no pressure.

3. Yoan Moncada: Leading the charge on the field for the White Sox' rebuilding process is infielder Yoan Moncada, the former No. 1 prospect in Major League Baseball and a valuable piece the team picked up two years ago when they traded ace pitcher Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox. Moncada saw some time with the big league team last year, but 2018 will be the first full season he sees in the majors. We'll all be interested to see how fast he can become an elite player.

RELATED: Chicago White Sox 2018 Schedule: A List Of Can't-Miss Dates

4. Superfan's Streak Continues: There's at least one fan whose been to more White Sox home games than the Hawk over the past decade. Season ticker holder Laura Williams of Oak Forest has been in attendance for 753 consecutive games at Guaranteed Rate Field/U.S. Cellular Field, a streak dating back to 2008. Williams says she plans on attending all the home games this year as well in hopes of having her streak reach 1,000 games come 2020. If the White Sox are a playoff team that year, Williams points out that her 1,000th consecutive game will be a playoff game.

"I'm keeping the streak alive while watching the rebuild unfold," Williams told me. "I want to see another World Series win!" READ MORE: Oak Forest Woman's White Sox Home Game Streak Passes 700

5. Playing Spoiler? I don't want to eliminate the White Sox from playoff contention of their own on the first day of the season, but even die-hard fans know a 2018 playoff run is not likely. But that doesn't mean the team won't be able to spoil the chances others have of making it to the Final 10 during the last few weeks of the season. By that time we are hoping the young group gels well enough to compete against the league's best.

Among the final series' of the season will be from Sept. 21-23 when the White Sox host the crosstown rival Chicago Cubs in what could very well be important games for the North Siders. Nothing would make fans on the South Side smile more than a Sox sweep that would cost the Cubs a division title.

Photo: Chicago White Sox fans enjoy a game in 2014. Patch file photo / Tim Moran