GLENDALE, Ariz. — Nobody believed in White Sox manager Pedro Grifol more than former general manager Rick Hahn.
At spring training last year and right up until the start of the season, Hahn absolutely gushed about Grifol, bragging to everyone that the man he had wanted to replace Tony La Russa was delivering — and then some — on every expectation.
‘‘I couldn’t be happier,’’ Hahn said on Opening Day in Houston.
Cue a 7-21 start — with a soul-sucking 10-game losing streak — en route to 101 losses, the Sox’ most since 1970, and a cartoonish run differential of minus-200 that only hinted at how bad a team it was.
Hahn and executive vice president Kenny Williams are out. So are a bunch of the veteran players from the 2023 team who did little, if anything, to foster a healthy, winning environment. The Sox even have five new coaches.
But Grifol, 54, remains. Grifol was a big believer in Grifol, too. At this time last year, he sounded utterly certain he would be able to improve the Sox’ communication, make them a fundamentally sound team, have them playing with ‘‘passion and pride,’’ as he put it, and — this was a big one — ‘‘earn fans’ trust.’’
Good lord, how did that go?
‘‘It didn’t,’’ Grifol said Tuesday. ‘‘I’m not going to sit here and tell you it did when our record, you know, says what it says.’’
It says 101, matching the highway — one mile from the edge of Camelback Ranch — that loops much of the Cactus League together.
‘‘Yeah, 101 losses will rock anybody’s world,’’ he said. ‘‘Nobody can ever get prepared for that, no matter what job you do or how you do it or how many years you’ve been in the game. First year managing and lose 101 games?
‘‘But you learn a lot through that.’’
Grifol learned that no matter how long he had worked to become a manager, how thoroughly he had honed his people skills, how fervently he subscribed to certain tenets of the game and how deeply he loved the White Sox, it takes only one match to send the whole craphouse up in flames.
‘‘It makes you better. It teaches you patience. It teaches you creativity and adjustments,’’ he said. ‘‘All the things that you learn through a season like that, you know, nobody wants to go through it. But it happens, and we’re prepared to turn this thing around.’’
Grifol envisions the 2024 White Sox doing not-so-incredible things, such as catching the baseball as though they’ve actually done it before and running the bases as though they’re actually eager to get where they’re going. Perhaps the nicest way to put it is that Grifol’s first Sox team was risk-averse on the basepaths. Boy, that’s too nice. Is ‘‘slow, lazy and injury-prone’’ too mean?
Whatever it was, Grifol doesn’t want any part of a similar go-round.
‘‘I’m not looking to see that style of baseball this year,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m not.’’
If he’s right about veteran newcomers Paul DeJong and Nicky Lopez in the middle of the infield and Martin Maldonado and Max Stassi behind the plate, they’ll help turn the defense around and get chemistry working again in the clubhouse. The Sox have been subpar in the latter department — rudderless, even — for a while now, and we’ve all heard enough about it that there’s reason to be skeptical.
The Sox were as dysfunctional in Year 1 under Grifol as they were before he got there, that’s for sure. He insists that the current clubhouse is ‘‘full of guys’’ who are happy to be Sox and want to play together and that the leadership mantle — ‘‘90% taken, 10% given,’’ he says — will be in capable hands by the time the season starts.
Hey, maybe so.
‘‘There’s a good vibe here,’’ he said, ‘‘a good energy.’’
And a good manager? Grifol still thinks so. He hopes Sox fans will be patient enough to give him a second look with minds open.
‘‘It didn’t look right, maybe, in their eyes last year,’’ he said. ‘‘But there’s a reason I am where I am, right? You don’t just get handed these [manager] jobs, right? This is one of 30. So over time, you know, I’ve earned the right to be here. But I’ve got to continue to prove that, you know, [hiring me] was the right decision.’’
Is the slate clean? No, it can’t be. Last season left stains on everyone involved.
But Grifol has one hand on an eraser and the other on a roster full of might-bes, could-bes and question marks.
‘‘You just start from scratch,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s hard to do, you know — and I’m not asking anybody to do it — but I’m answering your question. Last year was last year; this year is this year. And that’s why there’s a new schedule and 162 games to be played. So if that’s the way my evaluation and our evaluation is going to be, great. If not, then so be it. We’ll have to prove it on the field every day. Every day.’’
