Fitting end to White Sox's miserable season - another loss
The White Sox have been playing baseball for 123 years.
They were at their best in 2005, 1917 and 1906, when they ended up hoisting the World Series trophy.
There have been countless years that went the other way, but the 2023 season likely goes down as the worst in the franchise's long history.
Coming in as a team with the talent to make the playoffs, the Sox stumbled out of the gate and only stayed in contention because they compete in the lightweight AL Central.
They still managed to fall out of that lethargic race by early July, and it got so bad that loyal chairman Jerry Reinsdorf finally pulled the plug on general manager Rick Hahn and VP Kenny Williams and fired them on Aug. 22.
"I spent a month thinking about it and talking to people inside and outside the organization," Reinsdorf said. "I considered a variety of alternatives. One alternative was to do nothing. Another was to keep Kenny and let Rick go, another was to keep Rick and let Kenny go and another was to let them both go and I came to the conclusion it would be better to let them both go and have a fresh start.
"I think they worked decently together. I believe, and I did believe and I still believe that if I kept them in place, they had the capability to rebuild the organization. But one of the things that a number of people told me was you may believe that, but the record's the record and I was urged to make a decision by quite a number of people just based on the record."
After Sunday's 2-1 loss in 11 innings to the Padres at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox finished the season with a 61-101 record.
It's only the fifth time in history the Sox have had triple digit losses.
"Tough year, to say the least," manager Pedro Grifol said. "I'm embarrassed for the year. I'm committed, determined, excited to start this off-season with (new GM) Chris (Getz) and his staff and get this better, way better. It needs to get better."
In the final game Sunday afternoon, nearly every White Sox regular was held out of the starting lineup.
"Here's my thought, could they play? Yes," Grifol said. "Do I want them to play? No. The guys that are not in the lineup today are guys that are battling through some injuries and guys that we need moving forward. So I'm not going to put them in a position where something might happen on the last day that's going to hinder their offseason to where it becomes a rehab as opposed to just a preparation for 2024."