White Sox Manager Backs Owner Jerry Reinsdorf's Commitment After Disastrous Start

Chicago is in the midst of an unprecedented losing season.

Jan 11, 2024; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf attends inaugural Ring of Honor gala at United Center. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago White Sox's 2024 futility can only be described in historic terms.

The last time a White Sox team finished with their current winning percentage of .268 or worse? It has never happened; the 49-102 1932 team holds the franchise record at .325. No Chicago major league team has finished with that poor a record since the wartime Chicago American Giants went 7-29 in 1942.

Amid a 15-41 start that has left Chicago 22.5 games behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, manager Pedro Grifol gave owner Jerry Reinsdorf an unusual public vote of confidence.

"I've known Jerry for a year and a half," Grifol said to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Nobody wants to win more than he does. I know that for a fact because I'm the one who gets phone calls, and I talk to him. I get text messages. He is 100% committed to winning. And he is extremely knowledgeable about the game of baseball."

The White Sox are running MLB's 18th-largest payroll at the moment, and criticism of the 88-year-old Reinsdorf has mounted in recent years. Chicago's winning percentage has decreased every year since making the playoffs in both 2020 and 2021.

"You're not in the game for 44 years, around 1,000 coaches, sitting in on meetings and listen and listen and listen and watch and watch and not know the game," Grifol said of Reinsdorf. "He's passionate, he's extremely competitive."