Fans are sick and tired of the White Sox crap and want Jerry Reinsdorf to know about it. A group of fans on White Sox Twitter have started a Go Fund Me for a billboard near Guaranteed Rate Field reading: “Sell the team, Jerry.”
They are looking to raise $2,100, which would cover two months and the installation fee of the sign. Any money that exceeds the goal will be donated to a local Chicago charity. Just one hour after posting the link, the group raised over $1,500.
Jerry Reinsdorf has been the owner of the White Sox since 1981. Since taking over the team, decades of failure and misery have ensued for White Sox fans outside of a magical 2005 World Series run.
Right after purchasing the team, things got off to a rocky start. Reinsdorf wanted a new stadium and threatened to move the White Sox to St. Petersburg, Florida, where a new domed stadium was being built.
Reinsdorf then weaseled his way into $150 million from the state of Illinois to build a new stadium. During his 41-year reign, the White Sox have made the postseason seven times. In the last ten years, the White Sox are just one of five teams that have failed to win a series in the postseason the last ten years.
He was the one that overruled general manager Rick Hahn to fire his old friend Tony La Russa, a move that completely derailed the White Sox contention window.
Reinsdorf also really isn’t that great of a owner when you look at how much the team is worth. The White Sox current value places them 14th among the 30 MLB teams. While the team is worth more than 84 times what Reinsdorf and co-owner Eddie Einhorn paid back in 1981, the growth could be more impressive. The value of sports franchises, in general, is at an all-time high.
For perspective, the Chicago Cubs were purchased by the Tribune in 1982 for even less than the White Sox. Forbes now values the Cubs at twice as much as the White Sox. The Cubs will always be the more popular team in the city, but the gap should not be as big as it is, considering that the White Sox are still playing in the third-largest market.
Other owners like Steve Cohen of the Mets and Peter Seidler of the Padres have pumped unprecedented amounts of money into their teams in an effort to win a championship. Reinsdorf does not. The budget is the budget.
If you are an angry White Sox fan and would like to support the cause, the link can be found below:
