This year, the Sox have continued to sink to new depths due to shootings at Guaranteed Rate Field, brawls, firings, and clubhouse intrigue. The beat reporter for the Sun-Times looks back on his experience covering a 101-loss club that had hopes of winning the World Series at the beginning of the season.
I received a lot of sympathy from readers and X followers about having to cover the White Sox in 2023.
“In what way do you watch this each day? “I’m sorry for you,” was a typical email or social media post of condolence.
I can draw from my prior experience covering poor Sox teams. However, this one had plenty of plot points, so it was never boring.
Things were kept interesting by gunfire, fights, clubhouse drama, and a shooting at Sox Park, which roared above the team’s terrible pitching, swings and misses, and persistent, low rumbling of bad defense.
Aside from closer Liam Hendriks conquering cancer, the White Sox had a lot of interesting storylines to tell throughout the 2023 season. After Tommy John surgery ended Hendriks’ comeback after five games, even that cozy tale fell short of its fairytale conclusion.
Following general manager Rick Hahn’s gush about his new managerial hire, the untested and unknown Pedro Grifol, the former Kansas City Royals bench coach, strange and terrible things happened on a regular basis from April (seven wins, twenty-one losses) to November (sayonara to well-liked and respected broadcaster Jason Benetti).
Between, players talked out about a bad clubhouse culture; highly paid players were shipped out via trades; Ken Williams and Rick Hahn, shockingly, were fired; Tony La Russa reappeared as an adviser; and two fans were inexplicably shot in the stands. Tim Anderson struggled, brawled, was TKO’d, and was shown the door.
General manager Hahn and vice president Williams, stalwarts of the devoted Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf regime who shared a 2005 World Series victory, were let go on August 22 as the team headed toward 101 losses. As the Sox got ready for a Tuesday night home game against the Mariners, one hour prior to the news release that no reporter saw coming, Hahn was on the field chit-chatting with a reporter, apparently oblivious to what was about to happen.
After dropping their forks, two beat journalists who were dining in the Bard’s Room hurried to the press box, where Chicago Tribune writer Lamond Pope and I exchanged a disbelieving glance before beginning to type.
Three nights later, at Sox Park during an Athletics game, two fans were hurt in a strange and unexplained mystery shooting that took place in the left field stands. The incident made headlines across the country. That night, I didn’t have anything to do, but I did watch TV and follow X. At the ballpark, I texted our freelancer James Fegan, saying, “Never a dull moment.”
After the season, weeks went by with neither the team nor the police providing any updates regarding the source of the gunfire.
Following the trade deadline of July 31st, when elite players Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Joe Kelly, Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez, and Jake Burger were offloaded for prospects, traded veteran relief pitcher and new Yankee Keynan Middleton asserted that the clubhouse had a culture of lax rules.
Everyone is doing their own thing, so how can you police the culture if there are no norms or guidelines to follow? Middleton remarked.
Before the press conference on the day Chris Getz was announced to replace Williams and Hahn, Reinsdorf brought a small group of media representatives to his office. There were perhaps twelve in total.
Before the press conference on the day Chris Getz was announced to replace Williams and Hahn, Reinsdorf brought a small group of media representatives to his office. There were perhaps twelve in total.
I was one of them, sitting in front of the 87-year-old chairman’s desk in two rows of chairs. Getz sat opposite the desk, wearing a suit, crossed legs, and listening.
Speaking in public for the first time in a long time, Reinsdorf declared, “It was absolutely the worst season I’ve ever been through.” It was a bad dream. Disgusting. Revolting. Very terrible.
The team’s abandoned “Change the Game” campaign star, Anderson, had a terrible season of his own, which led to the unimaginable—that his $14 million club option was rejected.
Although Anderson was off to a strong start, on April 10 in Minnesota, he hurt his left knee after veteran infielder Hanser Alberto mishandled a rundown, forcing Anderson to rush to third base, where Matt Wallner slid over him.
While he recovered, Anderson went with the squad, but he struggled with marital troubles. “The game is hard enough when you’re struggling on the field,” a teammate confided in me. It’s terrible to deal with issues at home at the same time.
While I had an excellent relationship with Tim, I approached him about a costly misplay after a game at Comerica Park in Detroit, and he shoved my hand away and fled his locker area. It was a legitimate query. Later, Anderson would assure me that “we’re cool,” but the infielder—who was typically the team’s lifeblood in the dugout and on the field—withdrew from interactions with teammates and the media both on and off the field.
Anderson’s season was summed up on August 5 when he faced off against Jose Ramirez in a left-handed boxer’s stance to battle close to second base in Cleveland. Anderson felt angry, frustrated, and eventually embarrassed when Ramirez hit him, knocking him out cold.
Fans of the Sox and even members of the media like myself, who will stop at nothing to keep a safe distance from the action, can relate to him after seeing 2023 through to the very finish.