The Chicago White Sox are barrelling toward the worst season in MLB history. The 1962 Mets lost a record 120 games, and Chicago is at 117 with nine games to go.
While they were expected to be bad, no one could have expected this. The Athletic released a deep dive on Thursday that chronicled the misfortunes of White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, which helps explain why this season happened.
The first anecdote was about the team plane, “The White Sox charter an Airbus320, a plane first manufactured in the 1980s,” Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal reported. “It features only eight first-class seats; the rest is coach.”
“Even well-known frugal franchises such as the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, and Miami Marlins charter nicer planes. But not the White Sox. When a player new to Chicago first stepped onboard this season, he said loudly: “C’mon, man, no show plane?” A chorus of players burst into laughter.”
Some other remarks include: “As long as Jerry’s philosophy is the overarching one, they won’t ever succeed,” from a former White Sox employee.
“They have people there with no business being in Major League Baseball,” per an employee of a different team.
A different rival executive panned the use of the Zelus Analytics firm, “(They) are good if you have nothing, But the whole point of analytics is to have your own customized models for your players to gain an edge. You don’t get that from an external firm.”
Reinsdorf has a complicated history with Chicago sports fans, from a great dynasty to the White Sox's lone title over the last century. What will it take for him to turn it around?
Jerry Reinsdorf's complicated history with White Sox and Bulls
Jerry Reinsdorf is not from the Windy City. He is a “baseball-obsessed Brooklyn native” who bought the White Sox in 1981 and the Bulls in 1985. Under his ownership, the Bulls drafted Michael Jordan and won six championships in the 1990s. That would keep most people in the good graces of the fan. Reinsdorf is the exception.
It hasn't been all bad on the Southside. The White Sox won their lone championship since 1917 in 2005 with Reinsdorf as the owner. The decisions since then are what have changed things. Whether it's trading Fernando Tatis Jr., hiring Tony La Russa over AJ Hinch, or letting play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti walk, there are plenty of decisions to question.
One of the stories that indicates Reinsdorf is a cheap owner is the hiring process that landed Chris Getz as the general manager. The former White Sox infielder was a part of the organization when Rick Hahn's run ended in 2023.
Reinsdorf did not interview a single external candidate before hiring Getz, who had no general-managing experience. Getz recently said they would not be big players in free agency.
Chicago fans are used to this type of owner, as the Blackhawks suffered a similar demise in the 90s and 2000s. As the Bulls were dominating, the Blackhawks were faltering under Bill Wirtz. Their three Stanley Cups came after Bill's passing when his son Rocky ran the team. Now, Bill's grandson Danny is the chairman of the organization.
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