How The White Sox Can Transform Their Franchise
By Jeff Shirk
The White Sox appear to have an incredible future coming in the form of all their young developing talent. They should go the distance and transform all aspects of the franchise. The opportunity to turn the franchise into something incredible is right in front of them. Do they have the vision?
The Chicago White Stockings were one of eight charter franchises when Ban Johnson’s American League was founded in 1901. Their history is rich and sprinkled with the history of names such as Shoeless Joe Jackson, Big Ed Walsh, Frank Thomas, Nellie Fox, Wilbur Wood, Albert Belle, Dick Allen, Mark Buehrle, and many other baseball legends. As is the case with many Chicago institutions, the White Sox are rich in history and eschewed with Chicago history and heritage.
As is the case with many things Chicago, the city’s rich tradition and history comes in play. Many people prefer things to remain the way they have always been. It’s very Midwestern to not rock the boat, stay the course and remain steeped in the traditions and ways of our elders.
But the world is changing. Baseball is changing. And with change comes opportunity. The White Sox have the opportunity to change the way they are perceived as a baseball club, Chicago institution, and sports entertainment choice for fans. The question is, do they have the vision? I don’t mean a vision for a winning team, I mean a franchise that wins in all aspects of business and culture. A vision for the future. A vision for what is possible.
The term vision inherently requires the ability to visualize, to imagine vividly in the mind’s eye what the physical eye cannot see. To see into the future and with abstract thought imagine a world that doesn’t exist. Yet.
Here are three simple but bold visions of what the Sox could do and be: