Chicago White Sox fire manager Pedro Grifol after abysmal losing streak

The Chicago White Sox are having one of the worst seasons in the history of MLB. Now, the organization has decided to make a change and move on from manager Pedro Grifol.

This comes at a point in the season when the White Sox are 28-89 and 40.5 games back in the AL Central. Chicago is also coming off an abysmal losing streak that saw the White Sox drop 21 straight games. That was tied for the second-longest losing streak in the history of MLB.

“As we all recognize, our team’s performance this season has been disappointing on many levels,” said Chris Getz, the White Sox senior VP and general manager. “Despite the on-field struggles and lack of success, we appreciate the effort and professionalism of Pedro and the staff brought to the ballpark every day. These two seasons have been very challenging. Unfortunately, the results were not there, and a change is necessary as we look to our future and the development of a new energy around the team.”

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— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 8, 2024

The White Sox hired Grifol following the 2022 season. At that time, Chicago was coming off a second-place finish in the AL Central with a .500 record. He replaced Tony La Russa, who was retiring. Since then, Grifol has led Chicago to an overall record of 88-189, putting his teams at more than 100 games under .500 in less than two seasons.

In the announcement, the White Sox said they would begin a search for a new manager immediately.

Prior to coming to the White Sox, Grifol was a coach with the Kansas City Royals. In 2013, he started with the Royals as a minor league coach. He was also a catching instructor and later the team’s bench coach. In 2015, he helped lead the Royals to a World Series win. As a player, he spent time in the minor leagues for several organizations.

In college, Pedro Grifol played for Florida State. There, he was coached by Mike Martin and went to the College World Series twice.

While it’s difficult to say what the situation in Chicago would be with a different manager, the record and atmosphere around the White Sox has clearly not been what is expected of an MLB team. Part of that has come down to roster construction, injuries, and development not being good enough for the organization.

The White Sox are currently on pace to go 39-123. That would put them among the worst teams by record of all time, with the 1899 Cleveland Spiders holding the record for worst record at 20-134. In the 21st century, the 2003 Detroit Tigers have the worst record, having gone 43-119.

The worst White Sox season ever came in 1932. That year, Chicago went 49-102. It seems unlikely that the 2024 team will win more games, even with a longer season.