Chicago White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn, center, Executive Vice President Ken Williams, left, … [+] listen to manager Tony La Russa, during batting practice before a baseball game between the White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians Monday, May 9, 2022, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
It took 18 seasons with only three lonely postseason victories but Jerry Reinsdorf finally got over the World Series honeymoon that followed the White Sox’s championship in 2005. He reached the end of his rope after teams built with franchise record payrolls failed to contend the last two seasons.
In a surprisingly decisive move, Reinsdorf fired his leadership duo of Rick Hahn and Ken Williams on Tuesday. The Sox were 49-76 and in disarray under first-year manager Pedro Grifol, the fourth manager in the last eight seasons.
“Ultimately, the well-worn cliche that professional sports is results oriented is correct,” Reinsdorf, the team’s majority owner, said in a statement. “While we have enjoyed successes as an organization and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, his year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels. This led me to the conclusion that the best decision for the organization moving forward is to make a change in our baseball department leadership.”
Williams, a wide receiver at Stanford, has been with the White Sox organization almost exclusively since they selected him in the third round of the 1982 draft. He played three seasons with the White Sox and three more for Detroit, Toronto and Montreal before returning to work in the Sox’s front office. He served as the general manager from October, 2000, through October, 2012, when he was named executive vice president with Hahn being promoted to GM after a long stint as an assistant to Williams.
“This is an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because they are both talented individuals with long-term relationships at the White Sox,” Reinsdorf said in the statement. “Ken is like a son to me, and I will always consider him a member of my family. I want to personally thank Ken and Rick for all they have done for the Chicago White Sox … I have nothing but the greatest respect for them as people and appreciate the commitment and passion for the White Sox they exhibited over the years.”
The statement said the team will begin a search for “a single decision maker to lead the baseball operations department” with the goal of hiring a successor to Hahn and Williams by the end of the season. Assistant GM Jeremy Haber and senior director of baseball operations Dan Fabian are the remaining executives with the highest authority, although Reinsdorf did not appoint an interim GM.
This marks the second major development with the team this week. On Monday Crain’s Chicago Business reported the team is exploring options to replace Guaranteed Rate Field at the end of its lease, in 2029, and the team did not deny that a relocation — the story mentioned Nashville, specifically — is among the possibilities.
There is also speculation that the 87-year-old Reinsdorf may be moving toward a sale of the team that he purchased in 1981. He bought the team for $19 million, and was most recently valued at $2.05 billion by Forbes.
After a magical post-season in 2005, the White Sox collapsed in the second half of ‘06 and haven’t been able to rediscover the secret to winning in October. They reached the playoffs in ‘08, ‘20 and ‘21 but were eliminated in the first round each year. They suffered through seven consecutive losing seasons before going 35-25 in the pandemic-shortened ‘20 season and 93-69 the following year but failed to sustain that progress.
