By Jordan Long
The Chicago White Sox made the MLB postseason with a 35-25 record. It ended a 12-year playoff drought. Unfortunately, their run didn’t last long. The White Sox were beaten in the American League Wild Card series by the Oakland Athletics. It was the best of 3 and they dropped game 3, 6-4. The White Sox decided to part ways with Manager Rick Renteria.
Renteria was hired prior to the 2017 season. Chicago had just let go of Robin Ventura after 5 years. He had a disappointing record of 375-435 or a winning percentage of .463. The White Sox never made the playoffs under Ventura and hoped Renteria would be the answer. Renteria didn’t have much managerial experience with 1 season with the Chicago Cubs in 2014. Chicago ended that season at 73-89.
Renteria’s first year the White Sox were 67-95. In 2018, they were even worse, losing 100 games for the 1st time since 1970. Chicago improved last year and won 72 games. This year the White Sox exceeded expectations, advancing to the postseason even if it was short-lived. That should have been enough to save Renteria’s job for at least 1 more year.
The White Sox decided it was best to part ways with Renteria. According to UPI.com, Chicago White Sox’s General Manager Rick Hahn said, “This isn’t about any of the decision-making in Game 3 of the wild-card series. This isn’t about anything that happened over the last couple of weeks after we clinched our position into the playoffs. This is based upon where we are as an organization and what we need to do to take that next step.”
Renteria leaves the White Sox with a disappointing overall record of 236-309, a winning percentage of .433. The White Sox are now searching for a new manager. They should look for one who has experience as a manager in MLB. Ron Roenicke makes sense. Roenicke brings in 6 years of MLB knowledge with the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox. His teams were 366-367, a winning percentage of .499. He went to the playoffs with the Brewers in 2011 only to be knocked off in the National League Championship Series by the St. Louis Cardinals. He may be able to help turn the White Sox into a consistent playoff team.
For Renteria, he is looking for a new job. It might not be as a manager but he could be a bench coach. He knows the game of baseball. Renteria would be an improvement for any franchise.
Leave a Reply