Now that the White Sox have fired Pedro Grifol and begun the search for their next manager the question on many fans’ minds is whether the team will revisit their past to address their future. The two buzziest names so far are former catcher A.J. Pierzynski and World Series winning manager Ozzie Guillen. On Friday’s edition of White Sox Pregame Live, Guillen addressed whatever rumors may or may not link him to the job.
“I never expect or think about being the manager of the White Sox for so many reasons, so many reasons, and I’m a big part of that,” Guillen said. “At the end of the day they’re going to pick the right guy.
“Everytime I said something about Pedro, (fans would say) ‘Oh, you want to be the manager.’ No I don’t. If they call me, fine. If they don’t, I have a great job hanging around (with Chuck Garfien on the Pre and Postgame shows).”
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Guillen said that this hire will be the true beginning of the Chris Getz era. The White Sox named Getz the team’s GM in August 2023, and he inherited Grifol as the team’s manager. So this is Getz’s first opportunity to hire a hand-picked manager.
“(Getz) has a time where he can be the hero or the zero in this town,” Guillen said. “He’ll be God or The Devil.”
In Guillen’s mind, there are two keys for the White Sox as they select their next manager: be patient and pick someone who fits with the players better.
“To be honest with you I’m tired to see so many nice guys managing,” Guillen said. “Nice guys, beautiful people, love them, you want to kiss them. But at the end of the day look at what happened. You’re nice, you get fired and those guys are still playing.”
MLB
That doesn’t mean that Guillen believes the next White Sox manager necessarily needs to be as gruff as he was as the team skipper.
“I understand baseball has changed, they have their own philosophy about baseball and I respect that.”
The White Sox fired Grifol on Thursday and named Grady Sizemore their interim manager.