During a postgame information convention final June at Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago White Sox supervisor Tony La Russa confirmed up carrying a T-shirt with the phrase “FAMILY” spelled out in capital letters above the crew’s emblem.
It was clearly a message of unity throughout a attempting time for each the Sox and La Russa, who was within the highlight for some head-scratching in-game choices.
During a June 11 dwelling sport towards the Texas Rangers, the primary volley of “Fire Tony” chants was heard on the ballpark.
“They are coming to the game and they can say whatever they want,” infielder Jake Burger mentioned afterward. “I know this clubhouse is a family and we are going to stick together no matter what. You can have outside opinions, but this clubhouse, we are tight and it’s a family.”
La Russa is gone now and the Sox “FAMILY” T-shirts are collectibles. The gamers themselves didn’t really imagine they have been a household, it seems, however they saved it high secret whereas the T-shirts have been on sale.
Maybe that’s the lesson from the 2022 season: You can’t all the time imagine what you learn on a T-shirt.
Did everybody “Keep On Truckin’” within the Nineteen Sixties when the R. Crumb T-shirt grew to become a vogue pattern? Were all of us smiling within the ‘70s when the “Have a Nice Day” smiley-face T-shirts grew to become ubiquitous?
There was no motive to imagine the Sox have been a household simply because they shared a clubhouse, similar to you and your fellow workplace staff may need disagreements occasionally. Teams all through baseball historical past that fought one another and received are legendary, together with the infamous Oakland A’s bunch that pulled off a three-peat within the early ‘70s.
You don’t need to be a household to win. And reality be instructed, no Sox fan cares if gamers take into account themselves a household so long as they’re successful.
This season’s Sox can change the narrative beneath new supervisor Pedro Grifol, who has been tasked with getting everybody on the identical web page with out the advantage of a T-shirt-friendly motto.
From my temporary interactions with Grifol at first of Sox camp, he gave the impression to be a really critical man who has a really inflexible schedule and an urgency to organize the appropriate method. He promised a “loose environment” as soon as the work will get completed, insisting he’s “having a great time” regardless of his critical disposition.
“And you know I’m having a great time because I’ve got a great staff. We’ve got morning meetings, we’ve got like 25 to 30 guys in there,” he mentioned. “They’re extremely creative, they’re working and I’m just a reflection of them.”
Deferring to his teaching employees suggests Grifol doesn’t have a delicate ego and understands the crew’s hoped-for success would be the fruits of a gaggle endeavor. It’s not all about him.
The gamers have responded to the change on the high of the household, which is to be anticipated. When La Russa arrived in camp in 2021, he received a ringing endorsement from shortstop Tim Anderson, who mentioned he was behind his new supervisor “110%.”
“I can tell him anything I want to,” Anderson mentioned with a smile. “I ain’t afraid of him. Tell him that.”
New yr. New supervisor. Same Anderson.
“We’re creating new energy, creating a new culture,” Anderson just lately instructed MLB Network. “And I think it’s led by the right man as well. I think the biggest thing is communication.”
Grifol’s power as a communicator was harassed by normal supervisor Rick Hahn when he employed the 53-year-old Kansas City Royals bench coach, who had no major-league managerial expertise and was unknown to the vast majority of Sox followers.
“In Pedro we are hiring someone who is a renowned communicator, a modern baseball mind who is seeking to build a cohesive and inclusive clubhouse environment and one where the attention to detail and the accountability will be priorities,” Hahn mentioned on the introductory information convention.
“At the end of the day, after (Chairman) Jerry (Reinsdorf), (executive vice president) Kenny (Williams) and I sat down with Pedro, it was very clear to all three of us he would be the unanimous choice to address some of the things we needed to improve.”
Through no fault of his personal, Grifol instantly needed to cope with some controversy when pitcher Mike Clevinger was allowed to take part in camp regardless of an MLB investigation into home violence and baby abuse allegations made by the mom of Clevinger’s daughter.
Clevinger then threatened in a Chicago Sun-Times interview to sue WSCR-AM 670 for defamation over additional allegations the mom made in an on-air interview. For a crew in determined want of a cultural change, it couldn’t have began any worse.
But now that MLB has closed its investigation with no disciplinary measures taken towards Clevinger — and no lawsuit has been filed by the pitcher — we’ll see if normalcy could be shortly restored.
Clevinger is scheduled to begin in his first Cactus League sport Saturday as he prepares for the common season, which begins March 30 in Houston. He agreed to undergo evaluations by the joint therapy boards of MLB and the MLB Players Association and to observe any suggestions, in line with MLB’s assertion.
Though the investigation could also be closed, Hahn’s signing of Clevinger will likely be scrutinized the remainder of the season. Will Sox followers embrace him? That query in all probability received’t be answered till after his first dwelling outing.
Grifol has many extra worries than whether or not Clevinger can succeed as a fifth starter. He wants rebound years out of Yasmani Grandal, Yoán Moncada, Lucas Giolito and others. He must discover a dependable nearer whereas Liam Hendriks recovers from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And he wants a wholesome and motivated group to keep away from one other season like the frustration of 2022.
What he doesn’t want is a T-shirt exhibiting what a tight-knit group they’re.
If the 2023 Sox actually are a household, they’ll show it on the sphere.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com