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Chicago Tribune
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Other than a Flo Rida concert, how can the Chicago White Sox convince fans to come to the ballpark?
An urgent email notification from the Chicago White Sox appeared on my phone, immediately brightening up a rainy Tuesday morning. Multiplatinum recording artist Flo Rida was coming to The Rate on June 27 to deliver a postgame concert following the White Sox-San Francisco Giants game. Packages include a ticket to the game and an on-field pass. After passing on Vanilla Ice's postgame concert that was canceled due to a couple stray bullets landing in the bleachers in 2023, who could say no? For Sox fans unaware of Mr. Rida, the hip-hop artist recorded the popular party anthem, 'My House,' which was once featured in a ubiquitous Comcast Xfinity commercial urging customers to stay home and watch cable TV. The song's catchy chorus — 'Welcome to my house, we don't have to go out …' — made it the perfect tune for Xfinity, which coincidentally is also the cable provider that's been unable to strike a deal to carry the Chicago Sports Network, potentially depriving thousands of White Sox fans from watching the games in their own home. That, in a nutshell, is the circle of Sox life. I'm not sure if the lure of Flo Rida's hits will be enough to convince fans to come out to the corner of 35th Street and Shields Avenue on a warm Friday night in June and wait through a baseball game to watch him, but you can't blame the Sox for trying. Coming off a modern-day record 121-loss season, any and all ideas to generate fan interest are welcome. Well, almost any. Free beer kiosks and opening a dispensary in center field are not valid options. So what can the Sox do? Are they doomed to a season of empty seats at most games not involving the Cubs, giveaways or Mark Buehrle's statue ceremony? Or is there hope for a comeback, at least in the stands? Opening day is just over three weeks away, and the Sox are already playing down to expectations in Cactus League play. Nevertheless, general manager Chris Getz recently told me the reaction he and players received at SoxFest in January at the Ramova Theatre was greatly appreciated. 'They're passionate, no question about that,' he said. 'And we appreciate that. But at the end of the day, I know they're waiting to see a better baseball club. We're trying to put together the best baseball club we can.' Getz could've added an asterisk to that last sentence: *-allowing for payroll limitations from ownership. If winning games is going to be a challenge, at least the manager can make fans feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel. I asked new skipper Will Venable whether he felt any personal responsibility to help sell the Sox to their fans in 2025. 'That's about how we play, for me,' he said. 'Certainly part of this is going out and doing all the things we need to do to compete and play hard. We talk about those things every day in camp.' I took that as a 'no,' but that's OK. He's new here. 1 of Venable is obviously no Joe Maddon or Terry Francona when it comes to marketing skills. The Cubs brought in Maddon in 2014 knowing he had the charisma, media savvy and ability to convince Cubs fans that the rebuild was actually turning a corner. The excitement of the 2014-15 offseason built up and led to a playoff season that restored faith in the plan. The Cincinnati Reds are trying to do likewise this season with Francona, who provided instant credibility to their rebuild. Venable, in his first year in Chicago, remains a complete unknown to most Sox fans. He's as low-key as former Sox managers Robin Ventura, Rick Renteria and Grady Sizemore, the interim guy who remains on Venable's coaching staff. But after four years of a polarizing Tony La Russa and an obstinate Pedro Grifol, Sox fans might welcome a likeable guy to the manager's chair. So what has Venable learned about Sox fans during his first few months on the job? 'They're extremely passionate, extremely proud of their team, and I think that's something that we all can get behind and are excited about,' he said. 'Hope to give them something to be proud of out on the field.' Sox fans are definitely passionate and proud, as Getz and Venable pointed out, but they're also discriminating when it comes to attending games. It's going to take more than Venable's leadership skills and Flo Rida's hits to bring fans back to Sox Park. There is still the Reinsdorf Factor to contend with, and the lack of stars to promote. The Sox currently have two stars, Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi. Robert is likely to be traded, and Benintendi broke his right hand last week and will be out for 4-5 weeks. The young pitching prospects being touted for future stardom, Hagen Smith and Noah Schultz, are likely to start the season in Triple A. Spring training is usually a good time to generate optimism, but the Sox are 2-8 in Cactus League play heading into Wednesday, hitting an anemic .204 and posting a 6.25 ERA. Spring numbers are meaningless, of course, but with so many roster spots open, it's concerning that only Robert, Brandon Drury and Lenyn Sosa are off to decent starts at the plate. The Sox finished last in the majors in home runs last year and figure to save on fireworks again. With Benintendi out, the only home run threat outside of Robert and Andrew Vaughn is veteran Joey Gallo, a one-time slugger on a minor-league invite. Gallo should make the roster with so little competition in camp, but his strikeout totals are quite alarming. He has twice as many career strikeouts (1,292) as hits (557), while his 213 strikeouts in 2021 are on par with Nellie Fox's 216 strikeouts over his entire 19-year career. So far Gallo is 1-for-12 with five strikeouts in Cactus League play, so maybe the Sox should hold off on the Joey Gallo billboards for now. Better to market the 2025 Sox around the Campfire Milkshake, the slump-proof concoction that Sox fans were truly passionate about in 2024.
Chicago Tribune
16-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: It won't be easy, but the Chicago White Sox hope to earn back their fans' trust day by day
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Earning back the trust of Chicago White Sox fans won't be easy after last year's record-setting 121-loss season. The evidence is everywhere. SoxFest was downsized to a South Side theater, and the Sox still couldn't fill that small venue. Fans booed when director of player personnel Gene Watson told them the front office would one day be recognized as 'the best' in baseball, knowing it was way too soon to boast. Chicago Sports Network, the new TV network Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf co-owns, remains without a deal with Comcast, potentially depriving tens of thousands of Sox fans from even watching the games come opening day. Recent signings of low-paid veterans like Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo won't move the needle, and the possibility of Luis Robert being dealt hovers over spring training at Camelback Ranch, just as it did for Dylan Cease last spring before he was traded to the San Diego Padres. Do the players feel they have to show Sox fans they're worth watching, assuming they can find them? 'I think so,' pitcher Davis Martin said. 'You have to earn their trust and play the game we want to play. I think (manager Will Venable) has a great attitude toward it and a great game plan, and a lot of guys are falling in behind him and following suit. 'I'm a sports fan. I have my favorite teams. I'm a Philadelphia Eagles fan, so I'm on top of the world. I understand that when the Eagles are bad, it hurts. You want them to be good. That's your team. You have a lot of pride in them. Just like the elation everyone shares when they won the Super Bowl, last year a lot of (Sox fans) shared pain. 'We want to be on the other side of that. We understand how much it means to the Chicago fans, and we want to be the ones who turn it around.' I told Martin I once covered the 1997 Cubs, who lost their first 14 games, setting a National League record and becoming a laughingstock all season. The next year they stunned baseball by taking the NL wild-card spot, recapturing fans who had jumped off the bandwagon two weeks into the '97 season. Martin, who was born in '97, found a more recent analogy. 'Look at the Rangers,' he said of the 2023 World Series champions. 'Three years ago they were one of the worst teams in the league and then turned it around. You gotta believe.' OK, no one expects the Sox to pull off any miracles. A .500 record would probably be reason enough for a parade down 35th Street. Even 99 losses would be a 22-game improvement, a significant upgrade over '24. But stuff happens. I also covered the 2000 Sox team that went 75-86 in 1999 and came into spring training just hoping to be respectable. Sagging interest in the '99 Sox led to their lowest attendance since 1989, and general manager Ron Schueler didn't even bother to attend the winter meetings, knowing the team would not spend on free agents or acquire any big-ticket items in the still early stages of a rebuild. Manager Jerry Manuel threw down the gauntlet at the start of 2000 spring training in Tucson, removing any excuses and challenging the young players to go out and prove themselves. 'We can't continue now to say 'the kids can play,'' Manuel said, referring to the team's marketing slogan. 'They've been here for three years. Some are in their second full year. We have to establish that this is a good team. 'This team can either elevate or fall below mediocrity, especially the young pitchers whom people have talked about. If that happens to manifest itself, then we should be good for a long time.' That 2000 team went 95-67 and won the American League Central with Frank Thomas and a young core that included Paul Konerko, Magglio Ordóñez, Mike Sirotka and Ray Durham. Rookies Jon Garland and Mark Buehrle came up during the season and also chipped in. While progress wasn't linear, the Sox wound up as world champions five years later. Every journey begins with the same first step — players gaining confidence in themselves and then performing up to their own expectations. If the talent is there, and the right leadership is in place, it can often lead to something special. Manuel, who spoke softly but delivered his message without any ambiguity, was the perfect manager for that particular team. Whether Venable is the right choice for this team is a question that will be answered over time, but there's little doubt he has the full attention of his players, unlike the overmatched Pedro Grifol. So what will it take to convince Sox fans? 'We've just got to win games,' infielder Chase Meidroth said. 'It starts day by day, trying to get better. I'm trying to improve myself, and everyone's trying to take that next step and get better as a team. That starts today.' Meidroth, who is not on the 40-man roster but should compete for a spot at second, was one of the four prospects acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Garrett Crochet deal, along with catcher Kyle Teel, outfielder Braden Montgomery and pitcher Wikelman Gonzalez. A right-handed contact hitter with a modest power but a reputation for not chasing pitches outside the zone, Meidroth hit .293 at Triple-A Worcester last year with a .437 OBP, coaxing 105 walks in 122 games. When I asked Meidroth about his approach, he said it varies. 'I try to keep it as simple as I can,' he replied. 'I have a lot of different approaches with different pitchers. I like the approach-and-refine aspect of the game, so I rely a lot on that when I'm hitting and just trust myself.' The need for players who can get on base is glaring. The White Sox finished last in the majors in 2024 with a .278 OBP and were second to last with a 6.7% walks ratio. Both deficiencies factored into their major-league low 507 runs scored. The second-worst run-scoring team, Tampa Bay, scored 604 runs — 97 more than the Sox. That's how bad it was. The biggest name acquired in the Crochet deal was Teel, the third-ranked catching prospect by MLB Pipeline. He joins Edgar Quero, a switch-hitting catcher who finished with an .829 OPS at Triple-A Charlotte, giving the White Sox as much depth at the position as they've had in recent memory. Korey Lee, who struggled offensively in '24 but gained respect in the clubhouse by speaking out against Grifol when the manager called them 'f—ing flat' after a loss to Baltimore, figures to enter the season as the starting catcher. But he'll have to fend off the challengers sooner or later, depending on how Teel and Quero perform this spring in Cactus League games. 'It's great,' Lee said. 'Competition makes you better, for myself, for (Teel), for Edgar, for Matt (Thaiss), for everybody. We're all in it together. It's not one position. It's a team. That's the best way you can approach it.' Almost every position player outside of Robert, Andrew Vaughn or Andrew Benintendi is vulnerable. No one outside those three should be guaranteed a starting job this spring. And if Venable can find a way to get the most out of this collection of young talent, it could be an interesting year. 'You never know what's going to happen in this game,' Lee said. 'You can wake up one day, and some things can change.' It doesn't happen overnight. Like Manuel said at the outset of spring training 25 years ago, this Sox team can either elevate or fall below mediocrity again. We'll soon find out if these kids can play.
