Chicago White Sox: Three players we’d hate to see as owners
The Chicago White Sox may or may not be owned by the Reinsdorf family for a long time but if they eventually had a player owner, they need the right guy.
The Chicago White Sox has seen some mixed reviews surround their owner Jerry Reinsdorf. He has been known to be cheap at times but there is no denying the success that he has had in his life. He has also brought a total of seven championships to Chicago through two franchises (Chicago Bulls). Not many owners in history can say that they are a multi-time owner with multiple franchises. He hasn’t been the perfect owner for either team but there have been some good times.
Well, if there was ever an ownership change on the south side, it would be interesting to see what type of route they go in. If they went the route of a player owning the team, it should probably be one who can do what is necessary to make sure this team has the tools it needs to be successful. Owners need to commit to winning just as much as management and players do. To have a successful organization, you need contributions from everyone and that starts at the top.
There have been some rumors surrounding the New York Mets ownership. The Wilpon family has had a lot of criticism from their fans about the way they own the team for a long time now but that might all be over soon. It does appear as if they are going to have an owner change in the not so distant future.
The rumors are that former Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez is considering it. That doesn’t go over well with Mets fans because of his love and contributions to the rival Yankees. Well, of course, that got us thinking, which former players would it be hard to swallow watching own the Chicago White Sox?
Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett got his career kicked off with the Montreal Expos before they moved to become the Washington Nationals. He was a first-round selection for them and he turned out to have a pretty nice 12 year Major League career. He didn’t, however, become one of the biggest Chicago White Sox rivals as a member of the Expos. It wasn’t until he got to the crosstown Chicago Cubs that saw him become one of the most hated figures for White Sox fans.
It all started on a summer afternoon in 2006. The Cubs were a very mediocre baseball team that year and the White Sox were defending World Series Champions. A.J. Pierzynski and Michael Barrett had a fight at home plate after Pierzynski ran into Barrett during a play at the plate. The home plate collision and insinuating fight led the benches to clear and it was on.
From that day forward, Michael Barrett was a hated rival for the White Sox, and A.J. Pierzynski was a hated rival for the Cubs. Barrett owning the White Sox day would be one of the worst things that could ever happen to White Sox fans. He couldn’t handle the heat that Pierzynski was giving that day so he threw a cheap shot at A.J. It is one of the most memorable crosstown games of all time. Barrett as a White Sox owner would be just awful.
Miguel Cabrera
The Chicago White Sox have had some brilliant players play against them in the AL Central Division over the years. In recent memory, none of them were better than Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers. He isn’t the same player in 2020 as he was ten years ago but he will go down as one of the best hitters in the modern era and even all time. Cabrera never did anything rude to the White Sox to make us hate him, it is more of a respect factor to say he made our lives miserable.
He was pretty good with the Florida Marlins early in his career but he bloomed into a future Hall of Fame player with the Tigers. He is a two-time MVP, 11-time all-star, four-time batting title winner, seven-time silver slugger, and a 2003 World Series Champion. In his first MVP season, Miguel Cabrera became the first player since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 to win an offensive triple crown as he led the American League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs.
Cabrera was good against everyone but he made life hard on the White Sox for a very long time. In 188 games against the Sox, he had a slash line of .302/.378/.523. He also had 38 home runs and 119 RBIs. He tormented them for years so having him as an owner would be terrible. He, similar to Alex Rodriguez with the Mets, just wouldn’t look right owning the White Sox because of his career against them.
Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa owning the White Sox would be a bad look for both the White Sox and the Cubs. For the Cubs, they can’t even mend things with him so him coming to the White Sox organization in any way would be bad. They haven’t done much to recognize him in recent years despite him being a great player for them for a long time. Yes, there is a lot of controversy surrounding his playing career but he was a part of the times that saw that be prevalent.
For the White Sox, it would be a bad look too. They traded Sosa to the Cubs after the 1991 season for a return value that wasn’t even worth it. He then went on to, despite the steroid era stuff, have a very nice career for the Cubs. He was an NL MVP, six-time silver slugger, and seven-time all-star. He is probably never going to get into the Hall of Fame despite having borderline Hall of Fame numbers because of the steroid stuff but he helped the Cubs win lots of baseball games and not the White Sox.
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If he came to them as their owner one day, that would be tough to look at as fans. He has been the face of a terrible trade made by the White Sox for a long time so keeping him away from the organization at all costs is probably a good idea.