The five best White Sox moments of the Crosstown Series

It's finally here, Chicago.

Cubs/Sox has always been big, regardless of where the teams were in the standings of their respective leagues. For six days a year, the city of Chicago shuts down and focuses their attention on baseball.

There are the obvious, overused, banal statements about this series: families are divided, friends are torn apart, and effigies of AJ Pierzynski and Michael Barrett are burned from Waukegan to Joliet.

Well, okay, I've never encountered a Michael Barrett effigy-burning, but you get the idea. Cubs/Sox has always been intense.

This year, though, it's different.

Both teams are in first place—yes, Chicago has two first-place baseball teams.

And this weekend, they play each other. It's more than the "Crosstown Classic." This series actually matters, as, who knows? Maybe both these teams will see each other in October.

We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves, but any time two first-place teams from opposite leagues meet up (Philadelphia and Boston this week), the series is billed as a "possible October matchup."

These upcoming six games are sure to have their share of great, memorable moments. However, since the series doesn't start until tomorrow, let's take a look at the top five White Sox moments in the 11-year history of the Crosstown Classic.

#5: Durham wins it in the 14th: June 9, 2000.

In the longest game in the history of the interleague series, the Sox won 6-5 on a walk-off single by second baseman Ray Durham.

It was the preceding circumstances that made this moment so memorable, though. With two outs and Eric Young on first, Sammy Sosa stepped up to the plate against White Sox closer Keith Foulke, who had a tremendous year closing games for the White Sox.

However, on this night, the only thing tremendous was the two-run home run Sosa hit off Foulke to tie the game at five and send it into extra innings.

The Sox needed to keep pace with Cleveland, which had won the division the last five years and was very close to the division-leading White Sox at the time.

Durham's single off reliever Daniel Garibay kept the magic going for the White Sox, who eventually won the AL Central and made the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

#4: Valentin beats "El Pulpo" with walk-off: June 27, 2003

Although 2003 eventually ended badly for the White Sox, they were on fire come the Cubs/Sox tilt at U.S. Cellular Field.

After Tom Gordon lost a 3-1 lead in the eighth inning, the game was tied heading into the bottom of the ninth. Cubs manager Dusty Baker called on Antonio Alfonseca, nicknamed "El Pulpo" (the octopus) for having six fingers and six toes on each hand and foot, respectively.

On a 1-1 pitch, Valentin stepped up and nailed a hanging slider from Alfonseca, sending it 430 feet to center field to end the game. After making contact, Valentin raised his arms up in the air and triumphantly jogged around the bases.

Valentin was quoted after the game as saying: "We don't get the respect like the North Side gets. What better time to [hit the home run]? Show people that there's another team in town."

#3: Pierzynski drills Cubs, fans trash Wrigely: July 1, 2006

After the "festivities" of May 20, 2006, AJ Pierzynski was to Cubs fans as Alex Rodriguez is to Red Sox fans. Cubs fans hated no player more than Pierzynski heading into the second three-game set between the Sox and Cubs.

This one took place at Wrigely, and the Cubs had the defending World Series Champions on the ropes, up 6-5 with two outs in the ninth inning.

However, the Sox had two men on base against Cubs closer Ryan Dempster. Coming up to bat?

AJ Pierzynski.

You couldn't have scripted it better for the White Sox—Pierzynski with a chance to pay back Michael Barrett and the Cubs with at least a game-tying hit.

Pierzynski one-upped that, nailing a hanging breaking ball from Dempster and depositing it onto Sheffield Ave., well over the right field wall at Wrigely Field.

As Pierzynski rounded the bases, Cubs fans took out their frustrations by throwing trash onto the field, delaying the game. In the end, the cups, bottles, and wrappers couldn't save the Cubs, as the Sox hung on to win the game by a score of 8-6

#2: Lee walks off with slam: June 8, 2001

In front of the then-largest crowd in Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field history, Carlos Lee took the stage and delivered a grand performance.

The crowd of 45.936—well, not the Cubs fans in attendance—was sent into a frenzy when Lee drilled an 0-1 offering from Cubs reliever Courtney Duncan far over the left-field fence for a walk-off grand slam in the tenth inning, giving the Sox a 7-3 victory.

That home run cemented Lee as a "Cub killer"—a reputation he kept up by picking up numerous big hits in the Crosstown Classic while he was with the White Sox until 2004.

#1: Barrett slams Pierzynski, Iguchi slams Cubs: May 20, 2006

Everybody remembers the play: Brian Anderson hits a fly ball to left, Pierzynski tags up, Pierzynski gets to the plate at the same time as the throw, Pierzynski runs over Michael Barrett, Pierzynski slams the plate, bumps into Barrett, Barrett punches Pieryznski, and all hell breaks loose.

But what a lot of people forget is that in that same inning, Tadahito Iguchi slammed the Cubs.

After the brawl, Scott Podsednik reached base against Cubs starter Rich Hill to bring up Iguchi, who promptly ripped a grand slam to left to put the White Sox up 5-0.

It was retaliation at its finest: with results on the field.

The White Sox were on top of the town on May 20, 2006. The timing of Iguchi's grand slam cemented that.