Commentary: What is Old is New Again
Today, I’d like to tell you a story. It’s about the Chicago White Sox, a team that had a lineup full of All-Stars and all the promise in the world - a team that was really going places. That is, before a manager was placed in charge that destroyed the camaraderie of the team and squandered their amazing potential.
The year was 1995.
In the beginning of that season, it became apparent to the Sox that their current manager, Gene Lamont, wasn’t going to work out for them. Despite the fact that his teams had performed decently over his three seasons at the helm (.565 winning percentage, 1 playoff appearance), he was on thin ice entering the year. And after an 11-20 start to the season, his fate was sealed, and he was ousted in May. In his place, the team put in Terry Bevington, a longtime minor-league manager and a current member of the coaching staff. As an experienced manager with a bit of a cantankerous side, it was thought that he could give his team the discipline and the kick in the pants they needed to get on the right track.
At the time, the White Sox had put together a pretty impressive roster. They were led by perennial MVP candidate Frank Thomas, who was entering his peak of his career. Joining him in the field were Robin Ventura and Dave Martinez, a couple of future managers that were key contributors to those clubs. Their DH was a future Hall-of-Famer in Harold Baines, who was getting up there in age but was still hitting the ball well. Additionally, these teams also featured a young Mike Cameron and an Albert Belle in his prime. When it came to pitching, they certainly had some questions to answer, but for the most part, this was a team to be reckoned with. Even with Cleveland being as good as they were in 1995 and ‘96, they should have had no problem competing for a playoff spot in those three years.
Unfortunately for them, they never did.
1995 went well enough. In a 145-game season, there wasn’t much that could be done to erase the damage of their horrible first thirty games. Under Bevington, the Sox would go 57-56, and they would finish 8 games under .500 - 32 games behind a Cleveland team that would go to the World Series that year. Sure, it was a disappointing finish - especially since they were leading the division before the strike ended the 1994 season - but they at least salvaged the year from being a complete train wreck. While Chicago did test the waters with one of their former managers - a highly sought-after free agent named Tony La Russa - the White Sox ultimately decided to keep Bevington around to manage the ship.
That being said, Chicago had no real excuses in 1996. Sure, Cleveland was going to be a juggernaut once again, but there was no reason that Chicago couldn’t have been in striking distance with their roster. The Big Hurt would have another MVP-caliber season, Martinez would put up almost 5 bWAR, Baines would post a 132 OPS+, Ventura would hit 34 home runs, and three of their starters would throw over 200 innings. If I had just told you that, you would think they would be right in the thick of things. Unfortunately, that’s not how things worked out, and they were barely able to finish 85-77. On one hand, it was good enough for second place. On the other, it was also 14.5 games back of the division winner and 3 games back of a Wild Card berth. In short, it just wasn’t good enough. Once again, the Sox would flirt with other managers - even offering a $1.5 million deal to Jim Leyland - but ultimately give control back to Bevington for the next season.
If there was ever such a thing as a “prove it” year, 1997 was it for Bevington’s White Sox. After another disappointing finish, the manager’s job was undoubtedly on the line. And it wasn’t just the front office that was annoyed, the players in the clubhouse also seemed to be tired of Bevington - Frank Thomas (allegedly) chief among them. It was abundantly clear that this would be Terry’s one chance to redeem himself. Along with most of the talent he already had on the roster, he now had another superstar talent in Albert Belle and a rising young star in Mike Cameron at his disposal. There were truly no excuses for not winning now. However, Bevington still found a way. Despite taking Cleveland’s best player for their own, despite having one of the greatest players of that generation, and despite having arguably the most talented roster in the division, the White Sox still managed to lose the division by six games, miss the playoffs again, and finish one game below .500. While you could find many reasons that contributed to this, they all seemed to come back to the same source: the clubhouse was in shambles, and it was largely due to Bevington’s inability to get the team behind him.
It was the final straw for Chicago. With the fans unhappy, the front office disappointed, and the players upset, Bevington was shown the door shortly after the 1997 season ended. On his way out, a Chicago sportswriter wished him well in his future endeavors. Bevington responded by wishing the writer had a slow and painful death. As you might not be surprised to hear, he would never be given another shot at being an MLB manager.
While Bevington certainly won’t go down in history as a hall-of-famer baseball person, I think his story parallels well with Chicago’s recent hiring of Tony La Russa as manager. Even with the statistics that we have now, there is no way to quantify the negative effects that a mismatched manager can have on their ballclub - but they are certainly there and definitely noticeable.
Today’s Sox are the product of (and contributors to) the modern game of baseball. They hit a lot of home runs, and they love to flip their bats to celebrate them. They don’t care much for “small ball,” nor do they care for baseball’s old heads telling them what they can and can’t do. They are at their absolute best when they are having as much fun as possible. La Russa, on the other hand, is very much one of those “old heads.” He loves to shake his fist at the young players who dare to celebrate their accomplishments. He is the proverbial old man yelling at clouds. Almost everyone in baseball (outside of Chicago’s front office) can see that this is a match made in hell - with La Russa potentially playing the iceberg to Chicago’s Titanic. Yet, they did it anyway.
Granted, there is still time for us to be proven wrong. Perhaps La Russa has turned over a new leaf and has truly become a more player-centric manager (however doubtful that may be). Perhaps the players will respond positively to a more old-school approach (again, highly unlikely). Perhaps the team is so successful that it keeps the tensions down to a manageable level. Who really knows at this point? In baseball, the only rule is that it has to work. If they can somehow find success under La Russa, all will most likely be forgiven, and the front office will be seen as mad geniuses.
That being said, if this doesn’t work, it could lead to an even bigger disappointment than Bevington’s Sox. While those teams certainly had great rosters, I don’t think any of them had the kind of upside that the White Sox have today. Building this roster took years and years of careful planning, and it appears that all that work is finally about to bear fruit. To have a septuagenarian dinosaur come in and squash the potential of this team before it even truly gets off the ground would be an absolute travesty - not just for the Sox, but for all of baseball as well.
As a fan of baseball that is both good and fun, all I can say is this: Good luck, Chicago.