Andrew Vaughn, White Sox 'want to prove people wrong and just play good baseball'

GLENDALE, Ariz. (670 The Score) – White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn is coming off a season in which he set career-high marks with 21 homers and 80 RBIs, but he’s still waiting to have his breakout campaign.

Vaughn posted a .743 OPS in 2023, a slight downtick from his .750 OPS in 2022, and he did so in a 101-loss season that he and the White Sox want to forget.

“You kind of have to push that away,” Vaughn said. “You can look back on it and see what we did wrong or see what we did well and build upon that. We have a lot of new faces here. I think the biggest thing is getting the group together and making us tight while at the same time playing good baseball.

"We are all about getting this group together and being tight inside the clubhouse. That is where teams are brought together. Our emphasis is getting the guys together and having a really good clubhouse. We must always play for each other.”

After working out extensively on a different conditioning regimen this offseason, the 25-year-old Vaughn redistributed some muscle mass to his shoulders and chest while trimming down overall. He hopes that can help him take the next step forward.

"I did a lot of work understanding my body more and what it takes to play a full season," said Vaughn, who played 152 games in 2023. “I worked on the physical training, trying to get stronger, faster and more agile. On the hitting side, I was working on fine-tuning some things in my swing.”

Vaughn is an intense competitor but an easygoing individual off the field. He’ll be looked to be one of the White Sox’s young leaders, and he has preached the need for the club to “hold ourselves to higher standards” after the rough 2023.

“Baseball is a team game,” Vaugh said. “Of course, it's about us as individuals competing, but you can't win without the team playing well as a group. We have good players from top to bottom. (GM Chris Getz) brought in a lot of guys who are here to just play hard. We want to prove people wrong and just play good baseball.”

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine .