CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox hired Kansas City Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol to replace Hall of Famer Tony La Russa as their manager, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team has not announced the hiring. ESPN first reported the move.
The 52-year-old Grifol will try to lift a team coming off a disappointing season. The White Sox finished second in the AL Central at 81-81 and missed the playoffs after running away with the division in 2021. La Russa missed the final 34 games because of health problems and announced he would not return, ending a disappointing two-year run with the franchise that gave him his first job as a big league skipper.
Grifol spent the past 10 seasons in a variety of coaching roles with Kansas City under former managers Ned Yost and Mike Matheny. He was part of teams that captured back-to-back pennants and won the World Series in 2015.
Grifol spent the past three seasons as the Royals’ bench coach. He interviewed for the managing job after Matheny was fired as part of a widespread shakeup within the organization after a 65-97 finish – Kansas City’s sixth straight losing season. The Royals hired Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro as manager on Sunday night.
Grifol previously spent 13 seasons coaching, scouting and managing in the Seattle Mariners’ system. He was also a minor league catcher who played nine seasons in the Minnesota Twins’ and New York Mets’ organizations.
The previous four managers hired by the White Sox were either working for them or had ties to the franchise, including former players Ozzie Guillen and Robin Ventura. Rick Renteria, La Russa’s predecessor, spent the 2016 season as Ventura’s bench coach before getting promoted.
The White Sox began the season with championship aspirations after making the playoffs the previous two years. But they were plagued by injuries and inconsistent play.
All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson and sluggers Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert missed significant time because of injuries. Catcher Yasmani Grandal and third baseman Yoan Moncada also had health issues, and they underperformed when they were on the field.
There were embarrassing breakdowns, too, such as when the White Sox ran themselves into the first 8-5 triple play in major league history during a loss to Minnesota on July 4.
The team showed some spark after La Russa stepped away from the team on Aug. 30. The White Sox won 10 of their first 14 games under bench coach Miguel Cairo, but they lost eight straight in September, dashing their playoff hopes.
The White Sox finished the season with more errors (101) than all but two teams. Their lineup was heavy on right-handed hitters, and they had maybe a few too many players more suited for first base and designated hitter roles.
GOLD GLOVES: Astros rookie shortstop and AL Championship Series MVP Jeremy Pena, a former UMaine player, won his first Gold Glove Award and Houston right fielder Kyle Tucker joined his teammate on the list announced before Game 3 of the World Series.
The NL champion Philadelphia Phillies were represented on the list with catcher J.T. Realmuto. Realmuto also won the award in 2019 in his first season with the Phillies.
Pena is the first rookie shortstop to win a Gold Glove, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado won his 10th straight Gold Glove and Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts won his sixth.
The Cleveland Guardians had four players win Gold Gloves, awarded each season to the best individual fielding performances at each position. Pitcher Shane Bieber, second baseman Andres Gimenez, left fielder Steven Kwan and center fielder Myles Straw all won their first Gold Gloves.
They were joined on the AL side by New York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Baltimore Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias and utility player DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu also won Gold Gloves in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
This year marked the first time utility players have been included in the list of Gold Glove winners.
The Braves and Cardinals each had two players make the NL list. Atlanta pitcher Max Fried won his fourth straight award and shortstop Dansby Swanson won his first. Brendan Donovan joined Arenado on the Cardinals’ list by winning the utility award.
Arizona first baseman Christian Walker, Colorado second baseman Brendan Rodgers and Chicago left fielder Ian Happ all won their first Gold Gloves. San Diego center fielder Trent Grisham won his second.
WORLD SERIES BET: A prolific Texas gambler with a knack for attention-getting bets stands to win nearly $75 million if the Houston Astros win the World Series, including what sportsbooks say would be the largest payout on a single legal sports bet in U.S. history.
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale of Houston has wagered a total of $10 million with numerous sportsbooks on an Astros victory.
His bets include a $3 million wager made back in May with Caesars Sportsbook at 10-to-1 odds. It would pay him $30 million, which Brad Harwood, a spokesperson for the sportsbook, said would be the largest payout on a single legal sports bet in U.S. history.
“I have no fear in me,” McIngvale said Tuesday, while giving away mattresses in Atlantic City to military personnel, veterans and first responders at Harrah’s casino. “I have a high tolerance for risk. If I lose, there’s always another day.”
McIngvale has a long history of large bets on the World Series, Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four. He links the bets to try to cover the cost of promotions at his mattress store in Houston; if the Astros win this year, customers who bought high-end mattresses will get their money back.
In addition to his $3 million bet with Caesars, McIngvale bet $2 million with BetMGM; $2 million with Barstool Sports; and $1 million each with Wynn, Unibet and Betfred.
Even if the Philadelphia Phillies prevail, McIngvale figures he’ll still come out $500,000 to $1 million ahead after paying out customer refunds.
He figures he’s up “probably a couple million net” in the six or so years he has been making large bets on sports championships.
But it doesn’t always work out for him. He lost nearly $10 million on the most recent Super Bowl, backing the Cincinnati Bengals over the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams.
He also whiffed on an Astros World Series bet last year, on Alabama in the national college championship game, as well as on NFL futures bets on the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans.
WORLD SERIES RATINGS: Houston’s 5-2 win over Philadelphia in Game 2 was viewed by 10,789,000 people on Fox as the matchup remained the most-viewed World Series since 2019.
The audience for Saturday night’s game was up 3% from the 10,434,000 for the Astros’ 7-2 win over Atlanta in Game 2 last year and an increase of 17% from Tampa Bay’s 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020’s Game 2, which was seen by 9,184,000. Both those games were on a Wednesday night.
Including Fox Deportes and Fox’s streaming platforms, this year’s Game 2 was viewed by 10,993,000. The game, which began at 8:04 p.m. and ended at 11:22 p.m., drew a 23.5 rating and 52 share in Philadelphia and a 21.6/55 in Houston.
The two games averaged 11,185,000 viewers on Fox, up 4% from the two-game average of 10,712,000 last year and an increase of 21% from the two-game average of 9,267,000 in 2020.
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