Ten Men White Sox Won’t Choose to Replace Robin Ventura
The White Sox fanbase has been calling for management to fire Robin Ventura for a few years. Everyone has an opinion on who his replacement should be. There are many suggestions and candidates who would never take the job.
Loyalty is very important for Jerry Reinsdorf. The last time they hired a Manager or General Manager from outside the organization was when Jerry Manuel was hired as manager in 1998. Anyone they look at will likely have a connection to the White Sox.
The loyalty within the organization has been a plus and a minus. If the White Sox are going to turn around the direction of the franchise it would be a good time to start thinking outside the box. Otherwise, they will keep doing things the same and anyone they look at will likely have a connection to the organization.
Next: Don't Count Out Lamont
10) Gene Lamont
Lamont led the White Sox to the 1993 American League Western Division title. They were in first place the following year in the Central went the strike hit. He would later go on to manage the Pirates. Lamont is currently the bench coach for Brad Ausmus in Detroit class=inline-text id=inline-text-2 .Lamont ranks sixth all-time with the White Sox in winning percentage, 13th in wins and fifth being 48 games above .500. He is one of only nine managers to take the White Sox to the postseason and his average of 1.8 per place finished is the best in White Sox history.
Next: That Guy Known For Roof Shots!
9) Ron Kittle
Kittle used to set off the scoreboard at Comiskey Park with his roof shots. He currently serves as a White Sox ambassador.
Kittle was one of baseball’s best sluggers his first three years in the Major Leagues. He won the American League Rookie of the Year as a member of the 1983 AL West Champions. It was the White Sox and Chicago’s first postseason baseball since 1959. He hit 93 home runs and drove in 232 runs in his first three seasons.
He was traded to the Yankees at the 1986 trading deadline. Kittle would have two more stints with the White Sox before retiring after the 1991 season.
Next: Not Just a Broadcaster
“Hawk” Harrelson would probably love Steve Stone stepping down to the dugout to become manager. They have never had a great rapport in the booth. After he went down to the clubhouse to check on Todd Frazier in Texas in May, maybe Hawk would want to manage.
8) Steve Stone
Stone is in his 29th season as a broadcaster, ninth with the White Sox. There have been rumblings that Stone wanted to be a General Manager at one point. At age 68, those opportunities have likely passed Stone by.
He had two separate stints with the White Sox. His first was in 1973. He lasted one season before the White Sox traded Stone and Steve Swisher (Yes, Nick’s dad) to the Cubs for Ron Santo. Santo and Stone would be Cubs announcers together (Stone as the TV analyst and Santo as radio analyst) for many years.
Stone led the 90-72, 1977 White Sox with 15 wins. He would play only one more season with the White Sox in his second iteration on the Southside. Stone signed with Baltimore following the 1978 season.
Stone pitched in game four of the 1979 World Series for Baltimore and won the 1980 American League Cy Young award for the Orioles with a 25-7 record.
Next: Maybe a Hitting Coach?
7) Todd Steverson
Steverson is in his third season as the White Sox hitting coach. They .250 as a team last season, finishing 22nd in MLB. This season the White Sox are 21st, but hitting just .249. Per Steverson’s WhiteSox.Com biography “Under his tutelage, the Sox improved from .249/.302/.378 in 2013 to .253/.310/.398 in 2014.”
Steverson was a 1992 first round draft pick of Toronto out of Arizona State. He didn’t make it to the majors until he played 30 games with Detroit in 1995 and one with San Diego in 1996.
Next: White Sox to Braves to White Sox?
6) Greg Walker
Walker spent nine seasons as the White Sox hitting coach before leaving following the 2011 season. He then spent three seasons in Atlanta before resigning. He has worked in the Braves front office the last two seasons.
According to White Sox.Com Walker’s hitters on the White Sox were record setters. “From the time of his promotion in 2003 through 2011, the White Sox ranked third in the majors in home runs (1,791) and seventh in slugging percentage (.430). The (White) Sox hit 200-plus home runs in seven consecutive seasons from 2000-06, which tied the Major-League record (and was later broken by the Yankees, 2000-07).”
As a player, Walker came up as a rookie with Kittle on the 1983 division winners. He hit .272 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs platooning with former White Sox announcer Tom Paciorek that season.
At the height of his career in 1988 at the age 28, Walker suffered a seizure that could have been life-threatening. Team trainer Herm Schneider (who is still the White Sox trainer) had to pry open Walker’s mouth to save his life. The Chicago Tribune reported on the near tragedy when it happened.
“Sox trainer Herman Schneider said he had to pry Walker`s mouth open with surgical scissors to alleviate what he termed “a life-threatening situation. He wasn`t breathing. He was scuffling to stay alive.”
Walker, who was stricken while taking ground balls at first base, will remain at Christ Hospital for at least two days for a series of tests, including neurological examinations.
Coach Ed Brinkman was hitting grounders to Walker when, Brinkman reported, “He went to his knees. He rolled over and it looked like he had convulsions. I came in and got the trainer.“ Until Schneider arrived, Walker, who was twitching uncontrollably, was restrained by his helpless teammates, one of whom could be heard to exclaim: “Don`t die, Greg! Don`t die!“
Walker would never play more than 77 games in a season after the seizure. In parts of nine seasons with the White Sox, Walker hit 113 home runs, had 444 RBIs and hit .262.
Next: Pitching Coaches Make Good Managers?
5) Don Cooper
Cooper was named the White Sox pitching coach 100 games into the 2002 season. With all the issues the White Sox have had since their last postseason appearance in 2008, Cooper has largely escaped criticism.
He was the White Sox Manager at the end of the 2011 season after Ozzie Guillen left. Cooper and Guillen reportedly had a falling out. There were also rumors that Cooper had reported to management behind Guillen and bench coach Joey Cora’s back. Cooper preceded Guillen and has outlasted him on the White Sox coaching staff.
Other than the two-game stint at the end of the 2011 season, Cooper ironically managed in the Venezuelan winter league from 1991-94 (three seasons) for Caribes De Anzoategui in Puerto De La Cruz. Cooper was their first manager. In three seasons of a 60 game schedule, Cooper was 30 games under .500.
He has been a good pitching coach and initially transformed the White Sox pitching staff.
When the White Sox hired Cooper in July 2002, they had a struggling rotation. They would improve on almost every statistic in his first full season. They finished the 2003 season in the top four in hits allowed, ERA, complete games, and strikeouts. From 2003 through 2012, the White Sox pitching staff finished in the upper half of the American League in most categories. The 2012 season was Ventura’s first.
If the White Sox would have been interested in making Cooper a manager it likely would have happened by now. He is currently 59 years old.
Next: A Beloved Former Player?
4) Ozzie Guillen
When the White Sox won the World Series in 2005, Guillen became the first Chicago baseball manager to do so since 1917. Guillen is one of the most beloved players in White Sox history.
As a manager, he ranks third in franchise history with 678 wins, ninth with a .524 winning percentage, fourth being 61 games over .500, third in games with 1295 and his average finish of 2.4 is tied for fourth.
He is the only manager in White Sox history to lead them to the postseason twice.
Guillen left the White Sox to become the Manager of the Miami Marlins. The Marlins were 69-93 in one season under his leadership. The season was a disaster on and off the field.
The Marlins began the 2012 season in a new ballpark. Marlins stadium was built on the former site of the iconic Orange Bowl near the little Havana neighborhood in Miami.
Less than a week after the stadium debuted, Guillen was suspended. He incensed the large Miami Cuban population by saying he loved Fidel Castro in an interview with Time Magazine.
The interview with Time took place as Guillen watched his team work out during spring training. He apologized afterward and might have been prophetic.
“I’m very sorry about the problem, what happened,” he said. “I will do everything in my power to make it better … I know it’s going to be a very bumpy ride.”
Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and even more so Executive Vice President Ken Williams likely do not want Guillen and his nonsense back in the White Sox dugout.
Southside Showdown and FanSided are Owned by Parent Company Time Life.
Next: Yet Another Beloved Player?
3) A.J. Pierzynski
Pierzynski played eight seasons on the Southside. He hit 118 home runs, drove in 460 runs and hit .279. He averaged 133.5 games per season and was exceptional handling Cooper’s pitching staff.
He seems to be the favorite of the White Sox fanbase. This is the same fanbase that has slammed the White Sox front office from hiring within too often. If he wants to be a manager someday, Pierzynski has all the makings to be a great one. White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson (who admittedly overstates a lot) calls Pierzynski the smartest player he’s ever seen.
Robin Ventura ended his playing career after the 2004 season. Although he had no professional coaching, Ventura had eight years of separation from the end of his playing career to the beginning of his managerial career.
Next: Another From That Great 2005 Team
2) Mark Buehrle
Buehrle is one the of the most popular players in White Sox history. He doesn’t seem to have any interest in being in baseball after retirement. They ought to consider giving him a chance in the rotation. He hasn’t officially announced his retirement yet, but he appears finished playing. He has not played this year.
Buehrle and former teammates Pierzynski and Paul Konerko were the three most popular players on the 2005 World Championship team.
Buehrle originally went with Guillen to Miami. After the 2012 season, the Marlins traded Buehrle to Toronto.
Last month while attending the White Sox game, Buehrle told Comcast Sports Net Chicago’s Chuck Garfein that he would return to the White Sox bullpen.
Jon Morosi of the MLB network reported two weeks ago that Mark Buehrle’s agent Jeff Berry is still getting phone calls and that Buehrle plans to stay retired.
Jeff Berry still hears from #MLB teams asking if Mark Buehrle wants to pitch. "I got a call 3 days ago," Berry said. (He's staying retired.)
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 8, 2016
Having Buehrle’s knowledge on a staff as a bullpen or pitching coach and possibly manager after gaining experience would be invaluable. The likelihood is that Buehrle stays retired on his beloved 1,500-acre farm.
Next: Arguably The Most Popular Player
1) Paul Konerko
One of the most beloved players in White Sox history, Konerko has been enjoying retirement for two years. He told the Chicago Tribune in March he is still burned out, but could see being a manager or advisor eventually.
Paul Konerko: “If you did everything you should have done and dedicated yourself along the way of that career, you should walk away completely burned out on baseball,” Konerko said. “I walked away burned out, and I’m still burned out on it all. Maybe one day I won’t be, and I’ll resurface.”
Konerko sounds like someone that’s enjoying his children who are four, seven and ten.
“If you’re lucky enough to get to play the game as long as I did — going back to when you’re 18 years old and signed a contract all the way to 38 — I checked off a lot of boxes and got to wring every last drop out of my experience and my body,” Konerko said.
Konerko will almost definitely stay retired for the foreseeable future.
Next: Closing Thoughts For White Sox Fans
It would be a huge surprise if anyone on this list were to replace Robin Ventura should the White Sox go in that direction. Ventura’s job security is likely to depend on how the rest of the season goes and even that isn’t a guarantee.
Next: Should White Sox Consider Changing Closer?
It’s been widely reported that loyalty is the most important trait in Jerry Reinsdorf’s life. David Haugh discussed it in a June 29, 2015, Chicago Tribune article.
The White Sox would be wise to think outside the box when they decide to make a change.