Major changes in the White Sox front office are underway.
The team announced in a press release that Ken Williams, executive vice president, and Rick Hahn, senior vice president/general manager, have been relieved of their responsibilities, effective immediately.
“This is an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because they are both talented individuals with long-term relationships at the White Sox,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox chairman. “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, winning the 2005 World Series and reaching the postseason multiple times during their tenures. 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.
“Ultimately, the well-worn cliche that professional sports is results-oriented is correct,” Reinsdorf said. “While we have enjoyed successes as an organization and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, this year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels. This has led me to the conclusion that the best decision for the organization moving forward is to make a change in our baseball department leadership.”
The press release says the White Sox will begin a search for a single decision-maker to lead the baseball operations department and anticipate having an individual in place by the end of the season.
Williams was in his 11th season as executive vice president with the White Sox after serving as the club’s general manager for 12 seasons (2001-12). During his tenure as general manager, the team won the 2005 World Series championship and the 2008 American League Central title.
Hahn, on the other hand, served as the White Sox general manager for the past 11 seasons, only leading the Sox to consecutive postseason appearances in 2020 as a wild card and 2021 as AL Central champions. He joined the organization in October 2000 and served as assistant general manager (2000-12) before being promoted to general manager in October 2012.
As originally reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Jerry Reinsdorf had been conducting internal interviews that ultimately led to today’s decisions. Though there’s no definite answer to the status of Pedro Grifol just yet, Nightengale reports that the first-year skipper is expected to be safe and return in 2024.
This is a developing story and we update as necessary.
Follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more!
Featured Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Reinsdorf needs to sell the team and get out of the way now!!! Can’t stop at Kenny and Ricky being shown the door 🚪.
JR is NOT baseball man. And his love for money has to be a STUPID reason for wanting the White Sox for an investment
Owning a baseball team is a symbol of prestige!
Long overdue!! Too much losing, not enough winning. Team has gotten worse every year. No leader on a team with a bunch of young talent. No accountability for their failures. Too many injuries, and excuses. Noone looks like they even care are trying. A total disgrace. I knew it was bad when they let Abreau go and then had the nerves to trade Burger. And how does Grifol get to keep his job? He’s a terrible manager and it shows!! Just look at how his team performs!! They are an embarrassment to watch and Reisdorf needs to refund everyone their money back!! PERIOD
Ditto. All but Robert should return 75% of their yearly salary
Hopefully the beginning of a completely new direction. End the gambling on “prospects” that we overpay to get an extra year or 2 of control, mid tier free agents we over pay for, constant reliance on Latin players and the “my gold chain is bigger than yours” culture of individuality, no team cohesion, no leadership, and we are so smart just wait and see attitude of the leadership. Presently we are the laughingstock of baseball.
Millions paid out to unproven players one day and the next day they are on the disabled list. Money has destroyed all professional sports
Money is destroying college sports as well! The realignment of conferences shows that! Conferences used to have a geographic identity! Now, where is the geographic identity when some west coast teams will join the ACC or the Big Ten (soon to have 18 teams!)! Money, I think, is a contributing factor to the gross misbehavior of more than one player. A Dallas football player just arrested on weapons and drug charges, a former NFL player convicted of a fatal DUI crash while driving 156 mph, a Tampa Bay baseball player suspended pending investigation for having an affair with a minor, a former NBA player convicted in a plot to defraud the league health plan out of $5 million! Not that such things are limited to sports, but could you imagine the consequences if you or I were found guilty of any of the above? I’ve become increasingly turned off to sports!
Minor league issues need to be addressed. Team has a problem selecting and developing players. Need to fix it from the top all the way through the organization.
Joe. Really? Give it to Rick Hahn for improving this club’s Minor League system? Put the pipe down, it’s a disaster. Two or three possible bright spots is a miserable situation. They have an embarrassing history of development. Everyone with a modicum of talent needs to be rushed because they are depleted top to bottom, which leaves us with short periods of improved talent and massive stretches with little to speak of. Their minor league system is so bad, for so long, it’s like the#1 thing that needs massive transformation in order to model sustainably great teams.
This move was long overdue. Hahn and Williams got a lot of mileage out of winning the World Series 18 years ago.
This should have happened after last season! Better late than never!
You never cheer over someone losing his job, but there are consequences for failure to produce! There is absolutely no excuse for the team to have gotten this bad! The team has had clear needs since the 2021 playoff loss to the Astros, but they were never addressed! Things were only going to keep getting worse without a major overhaul of operations!
Never cheer over someone losing his job? This isn’t a blue collar guy struggling to better his family’s situation. The guy never has to work another day in his life. And, he had zero ambition to win for years now. Please!
I agree with what you just said! I wasn’t saying that to get people to feel sorry for him! I did follow that up by saying that there need to be consequences for this mess, and that this mess would only get worse if nothing were done! This is a giant first step in the right direction!
Pedro Gonnafail needs to be fired to.
Now that there has been a front office shakeup I will agree! I never would have agreed to fire Pedro Grifol while retaining Hahn and Williams because under such a scenario no manager, and I mean no manager, would succeed!