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Just when White Sox fans thought the monumental dysfunction on the south side of Chicago had a chance of being fixed, team owner Jerry Reinsdorf went and hired Chris Getz as the new general manager.
Following Tim Anderson getting KTFO by Jose Ramirez and multiple former players saying there are no rules in the clubhouse, Reinsdorf finally did what White Sox fans have been wanting for over a decade. He fired executive vice president Kenny Williams and general manager Rick Hahn.
Following the White Sox 2005 World Series title (the team’s first since 1917), the team under Williams and Hahn has finished above .500 just six times and made the playoffs just three times.
Not that there wasn’t talent. The White Sox actually won the AL Central in 2021 with a 93-69 record.
Which makes the fall to their current 53-81 record all the more painful for fans of the team.
That’s also why there was great hope when names like Washington Nationals President Mike Rizzo, Texas Rangers senior adviser Dayton Moore, former Houston Astros general manager James Click, and Philadelphia Phillies executive Preston Mattingly were mentioned as possible candidates.
The last thing White Sox fans wanted was more of the same. Which is exactly what they believe they have gotten with the hiring of Chris Getz. (Fun fact: Getz was selected by the White Sox in the fourth round of the 2005 MLB draft and played in 117 games for them.)
After the hiring of Getz, the Chicago Tribune ran an article with the headline “Jerry Reinsdorf’s ‘search’ for a new GM sends a message to Chicago White Sox fans — the status quo is OK.”
Based on the tweet announcing the hiring of Getz getting ratio’d into another dimension, White Sox fans are anything but OK.
OFFICIAL: Chris Getz has been named senior vice president/general manager of the Chicago White Sox. pic.twitter.com/MPjlDuI7p6
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 31, 2023
“Hire the guy that has overseen one of the worst farm systems?” read one tweet. “So more of the same of what has not worked. Great I will check back in 10 to 20 years.”
OFFICIAL: Nothing will change
— Lost Tribe Sports (@LostTribeSports) August 31, 2023
“I could tweet something irrational about how I’m done with this team, but here’s the sad thing I’ve slowly realized: I’ve been done with them for a while now,” another fan wrote, echoing many.
Player development guy with a bad track record of player development & zero GM experience. Jerry won’t hire externally because he can’t stand to be told the truth - he is the reason this is the most embarrassing organization in sports right now. Nothing will change until he gone
— Ozzies burner (@burner_butfacts) August 31, 2023
“There it is. Bad owner hires unqualified employee to run the baseball team,” another fan complained. “The #WhiteSox continue to be an unserious organization & the laughingstock of Major League Baseball.”
— Berk (@ChiBerk96) August 31, 2023
“Excellent choice. Reinsdorf going to alienate the entire fanbase. Near 100 losses this year same next year,” read another tweet.
Jerry Reinsdorf is finally going full Rachel Phelps, isn’t he?
He’s been trying to move the team since flirting with Tampa in the late 1980s, and now there’s talk of a possible move to Nashville.
Speaking as a lifelong White Sox fan, I say don’t let the door hit you in the a** on the way out. In fact, it will finally make it easy for me to cut the cord and go root for a baseball organization that actually gives a crap.