The White Sox desperately need some goodwill from the public after an abysmal 81-81 campaign. The optics for next season don’t look much better. That didn’t stop season ticket prices from increasing yet again despite a poor quality product on the field. The 2022 season has discouraged the fan base, and that’s putting it lightly.
If the White Sox are trying to get back into the public’s good graces, they are off to a terrible start.Last week the White Sox announced that SoxFest 2023 will not take place in January due to “several factors.”
They provided no real explanation as to why. In doing so, the organization has again opened the door for well-deserved criticism. Not that it would have mattered. There is no good reason to cancel an annual fan event that has been taking place for more than 25 years.
SoxFest provides many fans with their only opportunity to interact with players and coaches. It gets the baseball juices flowing before Spring Training starts. It would be nice to hear from the White Sox’s new manager. Or from Rick Hahn. But tough questions would be asked, and the easiest thing for the White Sox to do is avoid them altogether.
The past two SoxFest were canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, which is understandable. But they can’t hide behind COVID anymore. The safety guidelines have been lifted, and president Joe Biden has gone on the record saying the “pandemic is over.” The White Sox also had no issue with full capacity at Guaranteed Rate Field this season. What’s more, the Chicago Cubs announced that their annual Cubs Convention will take place at the Sheraton Grand Chicago from Jan. 13-15.
So if it’s not due to safety concerns, what is it? Their explanation, or lack thereof, tells you all you need to know. The White Sox are cowards.
They have totally butchered the previous season and don’t want to face the music. White Sox fans have a lot to say. Most of it is not good. But by avoiding confrontation, the White Sox have just poured more gasoline on the fire. The fan base has yet another reason to be upset with an organization that has constantly let them down for the past ten seasons.
Say what you want about Tom Ricketts, but in 2020 he got on stage and faced a room full of angry Cubs fans. Rick Hahn and the front office don’t have the guts to do that. So instead, they provide yet another middle finger to the fans.
Optics look fine for next season. Team has young players. A lot of the blame for ‘22 can be placed at feet of LaRussa … and key injury to Tim Anderson.
It also says they have no plans to make moves to improve the team. Please sell. If they were gonna make a splash they wouldn’t cancel.
No one should be surprised by this…. There is ZERO accountability in a Reinsdorf operation only deflection and deceit. This is just another slap in the face of the fan-base. This has been on-going since Reisndorf’s arrival. Hahn and Williams know they are untouchable as long as they defend Reinsdorf. I have already heard, season ticket sales have dropped to historic lows for next season. So them canceling Soxfest is not a shocker. I have not been to game at the Cell for over 10 years and I refuse to go as long as Reinsdorf and his clown act organization… Read more »