White Sox’s Jerry Reinsdorf Ripped in Report amid Woes: ‘Thinks He Knows Everything’

Adam WellsSeptember 19, 2024

Scott Olson/Getty Images

As the Chicago White Sox look to avoid setting a new modern-era MLB record for losses in a season, the knives have come out for owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his style of management that has put the franchise in this position.

In a report from The Athletic’s Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal detailing the process that led the White Sox to this moment, several current and former team employees and people within MLB spoke candidly about Reinsdorf.

One former team employee described Reinsdorf as a “baseball fan owner who thinks he knows everything, and maybe he did in 1992, but the amount of info has skyrocketed in the last 30 years and he’s put his middle finger up at that.”

The most obvious indication of Reinsdorf being stuck in the past was his hiring of Tony La Russa as manager in October 2020.

When Reinsdorf originally purchased the White Sox in January 1981, La Russa had been the club’s manager for two years at that point. He remained with the team for five more years before being fired midway through the 1986 season.

At the time La Russa was brought back to the organization, he hadn’t managed since his final season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011. He did have various front-office roles during that 10-year period, including stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Boston Red Sox.

There was speculation at the time that some within the White Sox wanted A.J. Hinch, who was fired by the Houston Astros in January 2020 for his role in the sign-stealing scandal. He was also suspended for the entire 2020 season by Major League Baseball.

When the White Sox announced La Russa’s hiring in an email sent to fans, the original graphic with an image included an electronic signature with Hinch’s name.

Austin Guy @DzikheadCan confirm the White Sox emailed out a photo with AJ Hinch’s signature pic.twitter.com/ckf8LxbmJD

The team included the correct signature in its official announcement on social media.

Chicago White Sox @whitesoxTony La Russa, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, the third-winningest manager in baseball history, a three-time World Series champion and a four-time winner of the Manager of the Year Award, has been named the new manager of the Chicago White Sox. pic.twitter.com/RKP24rleHP

According to Ghiroli and Rosenthal, the mishap was seen by people inside and outside the White Sox organization as an indication that Reinsdorf went with his preferred candidate instead of the person then-general manager Rick Hahn wanted to hire.

Ghiroli and Rosenthal noted their sources regard Reinsdorf as “stubborn” and “generally unwilling to adapt” to the modern style of play.

The White Sox had an opportunity to overhaul their philosophy within the front office last year when Hahn and executive vice president Ken Williams were fired in August 2023.

Rather than use the extra time to put together a comprehensive list of outside candidates to interview, the White Sox promoted Chris Getz to general manager. He started with the organization in 2017 as director of player development before being promoted to assistant GM in 2021.

Another key issue that Ghiroli and Rosenthal highlighted is the lack of knowledge and understanding about incorporating analytics into game planning.

One former member of the White Sox baseball operations department described their approach to analytics as “comical” because “one knew what was what” when they were given different sets of data.

The White Sox won the AL Central with a 93-69 record in 2021 and appeared to be on the ascent with a promising young core, but it’s been a steep decline in the three years since.

Chicago finished 61-101 in 2023, marking the first time in 53 years the franchise had lost at least 100 games.

The White Sox enter Thursday having already lost a franchise-record 117 games with nine games remaining. They are four losses away from passing the 1962 New York Mets (40-120) for the most in a single season in the modern era (since 1901).

During Reinsdorf’s tenure as owner, the White Sox have had 22 winning seasons and made the playoffs seven times. Their World Series victory in 2005 ended the franchise’s 88-year championship drought, but they have yet to win a postseason series since then.