Few people knew what to think when the White Sox announced that Pedro Grifol would be named the 42nd manager in White Sox history.
Grifol had spent nearly ten years in the Royals organization wearing many hats. He served as the bench, quality control, catching, hitting, and special assignment coach. But outside of Kansas City, Grifol was a relatively unknown name. That is quickly about to change.
The White Sox’s new skipper is making quite the first impression. The season hasn’t even started yet, and he is already piling up small victories. Everything from winning the press conference, ringing endorsements from former players, and buying fans lunch. Many fans remain skeptical, which is fair. After all, he was passed over for the manager’s job in Kansas City. However, Grifol’s early words and actions indicate that the White Sox got the right guy for the job.
This Time Feels Different
What a difference two years make. On October 30th, 2020, the White Sox pulled Tony La Russa out of retirement to manage the team. During the press conference Rick Hahn looked visibly disappointed, the social media team tweeted out a graphic with AJ Hinch’s signature on it, and La Russa could not have inspired less confidence on the podium. He revealed he still needed to reach out to Tim Anderson during the press conference. It was later discovered that the White Sox knew he had been pulled over for a DUI before hiring him. When news of this came out, it turned into a PR nightmare.
Flash forward 735 days later, and there was a different feeling on the South Side. Hahn could hardly contain his excitement as he gushed over Grifol.
“From about an hour into our conversation, it became very clear that the bar had been risen,” Hahn said. “And that the rest of the group that we were going to be meeting with over the course of the following week or ten days had a high standard to meet based on what Pedro presented that day.”
Winning The Press Conference
During the press conference Grifol had laid out some clear expectations for the team.
“We will be fundamentally sound, we will play with passion, pride for this uniform,” Grifol said. “This means something. We will respect the game, our fans and earn their trust. We will be prepared to control the strike zone on both sides of the ball.
“We will work hard and play winning baseball every night. We will definitely hold each other accountable. I truly see great things happening here.”
He also immediately identified the issues that plagued them a year before.
“We’ve got to improve defensively, obviously, and I feel that fundamentally we’ve got to improve,” Grifol said. “And again, I go back to the intensity level and the energy that we got to bring to our preparation. This is a very good club. It’s a club that’s prepared to win, to do great things.”
Accountability, or a lack thereof, was something the White Sox lacked in the dugout. With Grifol at the helm, it doesn’t seem like that will be an issue.
Clear Communicator
Unlike La Russa when he was first hired, Grifol reached out to several key players, including Yasmani Grandal, Lance Lynn, and Tim Anderson.
He then faced timed Eloy Jimenez on his second day on the job and attended a Blackhawks game with Grandal. The 52-year-old has made it clear that communication is critical.
📞 Pedro Grifol calling… pic.twitter.com/dCsU5ldzgR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 3, 2022
Given all the stories that emerged last season about the clubhouse, establishing a good culture will be essential to the White Sox’s success. Having a clear line of communication and building trust with the players is a good start.
People Person
The respect that players who have worked with Grifol have for him tells you all you need to know. Former players love him. Salvador Perez tuned into his introductory press conference, while Eric Hosmer called into the White Sox Talk Podcast to discuss who the White Sox were getting.
Grifol also made an effort to get out into the community and connect with fans. He picked up the tab for strangers at lunch, visited a local school, and took photos with fans.
This guy gets it.
Spent the day with our amazing fans. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/aVV4OJYEB4
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) November 5, 2022
A Win For The White Sox
Regardless if Grifol pans out as a manager or not, his hire represents a positive step forward for the White Sox organization. The last five White Sox managers have all had previous ties to the organization, dating back to Jerry Manuel in 1998.
The White Sox front office was able to conduct an actual search process, unlike in 2020 when Jerry Reinsdorf went over Rick Hahn’s head to hire La Russa.
Hahn also revealed that the White Sox would expand their analytical department. According to former Royal Eric Hosmer, with so many numbers to look at, Grifol excels at dissecting analytics and picking out which ones are important.
He talked about it on the White Sox Talk Podcast with Chuck Garfein.
“Was one of the guys that when analytics really started coming to baseball, he was one of these guys who was really good at translating the analytic part to the players and how to give the message to each guy differently.”
Grifol will use analytics as a tool. But he won’t be intentionally walking anyone with a 1-2 count or be paralyzed by numbers when looking to make a pitching change. The White Sox are finally catching up with the modern game.
It seems as though Grifol is trying to connect with players and to make his expectations known! Abreu stated that the Astros are telling him where he needs to improve. This never happened with the La Russa White Sox! Both Abreu and Anderson stated that communication was nonexistent! It also seems that Grifol is trying to instill enthusiasm among the players! This was totally lacking under La Russa, as seen in the level and quality of play! La Russa knew that he was hired on a friendship basis and that therefore he was never in danger of being fired!