Former Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol will become the next head coach of the Florida International Panthers, according to College Baseball Central’s Andrew Riedell.
The Panthers recently parted ways with their former head coach, Rich Witten, on Friday, May 22. Florida International finished this season with a 19-35 overall record and a 10-20 record in Conference USA (C-USA) play. The Panthers missed the C-USA Tournament this season as well.
Witten leaves Florida International after four seasons. He won 98 total games with the Panthers, with his best season coming in 2025. That season, the team finished with a 31-27 overall record.
A deep dive into Grifol and his coaching history
Grifol was the manager of the White Sox in 2023 and 2024. He won 89 games as the White Sox manager. Grifol was let go by the team during the 2024 season. That season, Chicago set a record for the worst record in Major League Baseball history at 41-121.
Before he was the manager of the White Sox, Grifol spent 10 years with the Kansas City Royals organization. In May of 2013, he became an assistant hitting coach with the Royals and was then moved to a catching coach position in 2014.
Grifol was a part of Kansas City’s 2015 World Series championship team. He led the catchers group that season, which included the likes of Salvador Perez and Drew Butera.
In 2020, Grifol became the bench coach of the Royals until he was hired by Chicago in November of 2022.
College career playing for Florida State
Grifol played college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles. He was a part of two runs to the College World Series with the Seminoles in 1989 and 1991. He was an All-American with Florida State during the 1991 college baseball season.
In the 1991 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Grifol in the sixth round. He went on to play minor legaue baseball for the Twins organization and the New York Mets organization as well from 1991 to 1999.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol reacts after his team lost a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
