DETROIT — “Failure” and “embarrassing” were two ways Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf described the Chicago White Sox’s record-setting 2024 season in a statement released Sunday.
The Sox completed the worst season — in terms of losses — in modern-day MLB history Sunday with a 9-5 victory against the Detroit Tigers in front of a sellout crowd of 41,740 at Comerica Park. Lenyn Sosa hit a three-run home run for the Sox, who won five of their last six games for a final record of 41-121.
The Sox finished with one more loss than the 1962 expansion New York Mets, who went 40-120.
During Sunday’s game, the Sox released what the team called Reinsdorf’s “letter to fans.”
“By all measures, our on-field performance this season was a failure,” he wrote. “As the leader of this organization, that is my ultimate responsibility. There are no excuses.
“I want to thank you for continuing to support the team throughout what was an embarrassing season. You all deserved better. This season’s performance was completely unacceptable and the varying reactions and emotions from our fanbase are completely understandable.”
The Sox set the record Friday, falling 4-1 to the Tigers.
The losses became the overriding story of the season, leading to a managerial change in August and attracting national attention down the stretch. The Sox had three double-digit losing streaks, including tying the American League record with a 21-game skid from July 10 through Aug. 5. They lost their first 17 games after the All-Star break during that stretch, setting the stage for more history.
“Whether said out loud or written in a statement, words are easy,” Reinsdorf wrote. “I understand we need to show our progress through action, and I commit to you that everyone associated with the White Sox is focused on returning this organization to the level of success we all expect and desire.
“Above everything else, I am a fan, a fan of baseball, of Chicago and of the White Sox. Every loss this season — every blown save, every defensive miscue, every shut out, every sweep — hurt. It was a long, painful season for us all. We recognize, on a daily basis, that it is our responsibility to earn your trust, attention, time and support. We vow to take that approach daily as we put the work in this offseason to be better. We owe it to each and every one of you.”
Here are three more season-ending takeaways.
1. Reinsdorf’s statement addressed what he sees as the next steps.
Reinsdorf wrote that the Sox “will do everything we can to fix this for 2025 and the future.”
“This will include further development of players on our current roster, development within our system, evaluating the trade and free agent markets to improve our ballclub and new leadership for our analytics department, allowing us to elevate and improve every process within our organization with a focus for competing for championships,” he wrote.
Reinsdorf mentioned moves that have taken place under general manager Chris Getz.
“When named general manager in 2023, Chris Getz and his staff immediately began conducting a top-to-bottom evaluation of our existing operations,” Reinsdorf wrote. “Chris is rebuilding the foundation of our baseball operations department, with key personnel changes already happening in player development, international scouting, professional scouting and analytics.
“Some of these changes will be apparent quickly while others will need time to produce the results we all want to see at the major-league level.”
2. Garrett Crochet provided a bright spot.
The Sox had a decision to make. The Tigers had the bases loaded with two outs in the fourth inning Friday.
Interim manager Grady Sizemore walked to the mound to talk to starter Garrett Crochet.
“There wasn’t much conversation,” Crochet said. “When he was walking out and he didn’t point to the bullpen, I was like, ‘I feel like I don’t need to convince you here. It’s a left-on-left matchup and it’s a guy that I felt like the prior at-bat I had a good at-bat versus him.’
“I said that, and he was like ‘All right. Go get him.’”
Crochet remained in the game and got Trey Sweeney to ground out to shortstop Nicky Lopez, completing his All-Star season with four scoreless innings.
Crochet’s growth while moving from the bullpen to the rotation was one of the few highlights for the Sox. The left-hander went 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 32 starts. He pitched 146 innings, well past his previous career high of 54 1/3 innings in 2021.
“Definitely outperformed expectations,” Crochet said. “Was thinking that 120, 130 (innings) would be a good mark to get. But making every start, that’s everything I could have asked for.”
It remains to be seen what’s next for Crochet, who was mentioned in trade speculation leading up to the July 30 deadline.
Also on the mound, rookie starters like Drew Thorpe, acquired as part of the Dylan Cease trade, Jonathan Cannon and Sean Burke gained valuable experience.
But the Sox have to make improvements at the plate after finishing last in the majors in categories such as average (.221), on-base percentage (.278) and slugging (.340).
3. Another offseason of change awaits.
Reinsdorf wrote the organization’s “most important decision” in the coming months will be finding the next manager.
“Chris is well underway with this search,” Reinsdorf wrote. “He has identified the key attributes and preferences for our next manager and has already begun an exhaustive search with a wide range of candidates to lead the White Sox in the clubhouse and dugout.”
Getz has said that other than Sizemore being in consideration, the Sox were “focused mainly outside the organization and on someone who’s in uniform” to fill the spot.
“I feel really good about the process that we’ve built out,” Getz recently said. “We’ve got a long list of candidates and look forward to eventually hiring the next leader for our dugout that’s going to represent not only an extension of the front office, but lead our players, lead our organization toward better days ahead.”
