Planned video boards likely only start of changes for White Sox
Changes are coming for the White Sox next season.
Roster changes for sure. One or two changes on the coaching staff are likely.
As for manager Robin Ventura, he is expected to return in 2016, although general manager Rick Hahn might have different thoughts when he meets with the media on Sunday.
On Thursday night, the Sox dropped to 74-85 after losing to the Royals 6-4 at U.S. Cellular Field.
Jose Abreu made history in the game, surpassing the 100 RBI mark with a 2-run single in the seventh inning.
The White Sox' first baseman has 30 home runs and 101 RBI, and he joins Albert Pujols as the only player in major-league history to have 30 or more homers and 100 or more RBI in each of his first two seasons.
"It's very exciting," Abreu said through an interpreter. "It's a very important accomplishment for me. It's a big honor seeing my name now with Albert. He's one of the greatest players in the history of baseball."
One certain change for next season is three new outfield video boards at the Cell.
"Right now, that's the smallest (center field) board in major-league baseball," said Brooks Boyer, the White Sox' director of sales and marketing. "As you guys have seen, you've seen the flickering. You've seen them going in and out. There is proprietary software and hardware in the right field and left field boards from a company (White Way Signs in Mount Prospect) that is bankrupt."
According to a report in Crain's Chicago Business, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is paying the $7.3 million bill for the three video boards. The new board in center field is expected to be four times the size of the current one.
"We will have a lot of things going on with other renovations that we are doing in the ballpark," Boyer said. "So, come Opening Day next year, it's going to look a lot different. Obviously, this adds a lot of flexibility to our game presentation for our sponsors and to ultimately create a better entertainment experience for our fans."
The White Sox will have a lot of work to do even after the video boards are installed.
"We are going to have to figure out what we are going to do to ultimately program the boards," Boyer said. "The process that ISFA went through in order to secure the boards and what they did was amazing. Complete tip of the cap to those guys for all the work and time they put into it. But we've got some work to do now, now that we have the boards, of what we have to do to program them. It will be a fun process to start next week."