Pedro Grifol has been relieved of his duties as the Chicago White Sox manager midway through his second season. Grifol has managed the White Sox to a 28-89 record this season and recently underwent a 21-game losing streak. An interim manager will be named later today.
Grifol was hired on Nov. 1, 2022, to manage the White Sox and replace the retiring Tony LaRussa. Grifol had previously served as a coach for the Kansas City Royals for ten years.
The White Sox were coming off an 81-81 record in LaRussa’s last year, and in Grifol’s first year, the club went 61-101. This year, the White Sox are 28-89. The White Sox set the record for the sixth most consecutive losses ever on Monday, losing their 21st straight game at the hands of the Oakland Athletics. They ended the streak with a win on Tuesday but lost last night on Wednesday by a score of 2-3. The White Sox have the worst record in the MLB and are on pace to have the least amount of wins of any team since 1935.
The White Sox will promote an assistant coach to become the interim manager later today, as reported by Bruce Levine. As far as who could become the permanent manager, no candidates have been named yet. Ozzie Guillen could be a possible name for the next skipper, as the 16-year MLB veteran was the manager of the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005.
Guillen, currently a panelist for the pregame and postgame shows for NBC Chicago, was in the running for White Sox manager two years ago when management decided to hire Grifol. Recently, Guillen even said, “holy cow, I should be embarrassed,” regarding the White Sox hiring Grifol over him. Guillen most recently managed Tiburones de La Guaira of the LVBP, leading them to the LVBP championship and helping them qualify for the 2024 Caribbean Series.
Grifol possessed an 89-190 record in 279 games managed with a winning percentage of .319. He is one of only two managers in the history of Major League Baseball to have managed at least 200 games for one team and won less than a third of his games. The other manager was Doc Prothro, who managed the Phillies during WW2.
Grifol’s managerial tenure with the White Sox goes down as one of the worst in recent memory, and the White Sox still have 45 games to go in the season. Fans continue to lament as owner Jerry Reinsdorf will have another hiring opportunity in the offseason to take the White Sox back to winning ways.
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Photo Credit: Pedro Grifol #5 manager of the Chicago White Sox listens to a reporter’s question during a pre-game interview prior to a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 19, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
