How The White Sox Can Transform Their Franchise
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:
First, build a new stadium. I know, I know – the current one is only 28 years old. Yeah, that’s the sentiment of a club who gets a new stadium, oh, every 100 years. But the same could have been said about Turner Field in Atlanta, which was a nicer park than Comiskey—er, Guaranteed Rate Field. The Braves didn’t wait until their stadium was decrepit and decayed, they’ve transformed the customer experience into something more and more compelling. The Sox could do this too if they were a franchise that focused on potential returns rather than cost.
Tear down the concrete edifice that was made obsolete the second Camden Yards opened in Baltimore just one year after the “new” Comiskey Park opened in 1991. Camden Yards was creative, unique and built for the ultimate fan experience, and transformed the way baseball parks would forever be thought about. Comiskey II had no such vision.
Build a new stadium in a new location – ideally on the shores of Lake Michigan where players could hit “splash landing” home runs like they do at Oracle Park in San Francisco – and get out of the current ghetto perception no matter what historical significance the existing location of 35th and Shields yields. Build a modern “smart” field with green environmental elements and as much traditional baseball charm and culture as possible. They could knock the “Sox” off baseball fans across the country and restate the brand promise of the Chicago White Sox.
Second, bring back Bill Veeck. Not literally, of course. He’s been gone for 33 years now. Gone, but not forgotten. Veeck transformed the franchise in the brief time he owned the team for two years from 1959-1961, and again in the lat1970s’s.
He is responsible for the now famous exploding scoreboard, the Disco Demolition event, Harry Caray singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”, listing players last names on the backs of their jerseys, and for legendary irreverent stunts such as players wearing shorts as part of their uniforms and (as owner of the St. Louis Browns) sending a midget to bat in an effort to draw a base on balls with Gaedel’s ridiculously small strike zone.
This club is baseball royalty and they should celebrate their heritage to reassert it. Make games a party again, bigger and better than ever. Coordinated “Waves”, flash mob dances, more kiss cams, giveaways for fans in selected seats, section competitions, Guinness records, guest bands and performers, laser shows, selected fireworks, sound effects, tweetstorms and unique per-game hashtags, in-game selfie contests, Legends and Ambassadors as game chairpersons, Daniel Palka look-alike contests, featured celebrities leading sing-alongs, guest chef per-game specials and creations, featured elementary, high school and college nights with free tickets to student populations, and on and on.
Make Sox park the place to be for every game because you don’t know what you’re going to see. This was precisely what Bill Veeck did in the 50’s and again in the 70’s. The enthusiasm could be infectious, and when the team matures in a winning environment that spontaneity will translate to on-field gameplay and outcomes.
There’s a reason we have fireworks after home runs and an exploding scoreboard with pinwheels…and it’s Veeck. He’s also the reason Wrigley Field’s outfield is covered with ivy and not simply exposed brick.
Third, create a new baseball tradition – the eighth Inning Swing. If you’ve ever been to Fenway Park and seen the performance of Sweet Caroline in the mid-eighth inning you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s the most exciting event of the game…right before the final two at-bats for the home club. Talk about getting everyone pumped! Every single person in the park belting out every single word in crisp unison – it’s an absolute baseball classic and a demonstration no other home stadium and fan base gets close to.
Well, let’s try. Call it the eighth Inning Swing or Sing or Rock – I don’t care what you call it, that’s marketing’s job – but blast out Sweet Home Chicago or some other Chicago classic and get everyone in the stadium used to signing it just as emphatically as BoSox fans croon their Neil Diamond tune. We used to play the tune after games ended, but, um, after the game is over is a bit too late.
How do we outshine the Cubs? We take out a candle out from under the bushel and let it shine as bright as it can be. That requires bold steps and taking risks. It requires big thinking and vision. Most of all, it requires the desire to no longer be mired in mediocrity. The Sox need to be all in on this. If they build it, would the City of Chicago come along? I think they might be pleasantly surprised. People want to be inspired and to be led. The time is right for the Chicago White Sox ownership to lead.
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Jerry, this can be your destiny.