On December 9, 2014, the Oakland A’s traded star pitcher Jeff Samardzija to the Chicago White Sox for four younger, up-and-coming players.
On December 9, 2015, the A’s traded infielder Brett Lawrie to the White Sox for two pitching prospects.
On October 1, 2020, the A’s won their first postseason series in 14 years, in the Wild Card Round over the White Sox.
All three of these events are connected, and you don’t have to study the back of a dollar bill to see why. Three of the players the A’s received in those deals played critical roles against their old team, standing among the many heroes who mercifully ended the green and gold’s long series drought in the playoffs.