Rick Renteria And White Sox Have Parted Ways
The Chicago White Sox have announced that they are parting ways with Rick Renteria as their manager. In four seasons as manager, Renteria helped lead the White Sox to a playoff spot in 2020 as they finished in a tie for second place in the American League Central division and were 35-25. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise since 2008. The Sox had lost in their three game series with the Oakland Athletics during the Wild Card round thus ending their 2020 season. During his tenure (2017-2020), the team was 236-309.
The Chicago White Sox and Manager Rick Renteria have agreed to part ways following the 2020 season
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) October 12, 2020
Renteria’s Career
Renteria had previously been the bench coach for the Pale Hose when working for then-manager Robin Ventura in 2016, but took over shortly after Ventura resigned. Renteria had previous managerial experience as he was at the helm for the Chicago Cubs in 2014 before he was fired and was replaced by Joe Maddon. He has the distinction of being only one of two managers to be at the helm for both Chicago franchises. Johnny Evers was the other one. Renteria also managed the Mexico national team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Additionally, he managed in the minor leagues in the Florida Marlins and San Diego Padres organizations. Renteria had been a coach with the Padres from 2008-13 including being bench coach from 2011-13.
Why The Sox Let Renteria Go
There had been a lot of questions as to whether Renteria was the right man for the job. While in the last two weeks of the season and in the playoffs he made questionable in-game decisions, this was a trend in his entire tenure with the Sox. White Sox social media had wanted to see him out as he made numerous head-scratching decisions. There was also the problem with him not using analytics as he was very much an old school manager. With the trend of teams leaning more heavily on analytics, that probably hurt Renteria’s chances at staying at the helm.
The Direction For The White Sox
General manager Rick Hahn mentioned in his press conference that the team will be looking for “someone who has experience in a championship organization in recent years.” With speculation, AJ Hinch or Alex Cora could be considered. Another name thrown around has been Sandy Alomar as he did an admirable job with the Cleveland Indians while Terry Francona was dealing with his health issues.
There is the possibility that the team could still hire someone from within the organization. Names that have popped up are Justin Jirschele and current bench coach Joe McEwing. Other names that have been thrown around are A.J. Pierzynski and Jim Thome, but, with Thome and Pierzynski, some White Sox fans would not like to see someone who has no managerial experience being at the helm. Even Paul Konerko has been mentioned, but that would seem more unlikely to happen. However, this clearly shows the commitment of the front office into becoming more serious contenders. The team has a good young core and veterans that should be talented enough to lead to long-term success.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
