'We didn’t get the job done:' White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf's patience finally runs out

There were hugs.

There were tears.

There were emotional good-byes.

And there were screams of angst.

Tuesday was one of the most emotional and gut-wrenching days Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf ever endured since purchasing the franchise for $19 million in 1981.

Reinsdorf, perhaps the most loyal owner in baseball, if not all of sports, fired White Sox vice president Kenny Williams and GM Rick Hahn Tuesday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Reinsdorf, 87, simply had enough. He couldn’t bear to watch his team’s pathetic performance any longer, another wasted year of gross underachievement. It became so unbearable that Reinsdorf attended fewer games this season than he had in years.

Reinsdorf took it upon himself to conduct interviews with employees throughout the organization in the past few weeks to determine the next course of action.

A week ago, he made the decision that Williams and Hahn needed to go.

He waited to see if anything could possibly change his mind, but time only cemented his decision.

SOUTH SIDE SHAKE-UP: White Sox fire VP Ken Williams, GM Rick Hahn amid 'very disappointing' year

Reinsdorf didn’t believe that he could separate the two, firing one and keeping the other, so Williams and Hahn both went. He called each one into his office separately. He informed them that while he certainly appreciated the 2005 World Series championship, he didn’t expect that to be their last moment of glory over the next 18 years.

The White Sox have failed to win a single postseason series since 2005, have won just three playoff games, and produced only six winning seasons since 2006.

So, he fired the tandem, who had been together since 2002, with Williams in the organization for 31 years.

“We didn’t get the job done,’’ Williams said to USA TODAY Sports. “I’m grateful for the time he gave me to try to bring another championship to Chicago. I failed him.

“This is what happens.’’

The timing of the firings was curious considering Williams and Hahn were entrusted to conduct the amateur draft at the All-Star break, and two weeks later make trades at the deadline. There still are six weeks remaining in the regular season.

Yet, this is the week the White Sox are sending out season-ticket renewals, and attendance has plummeted this year, dropping by 179,836 − the biggest decrease in baseball, averaging 21,598 a game. Fans have openly been calling for the firings of Williams and Hahn all season.

Now, they got their wish.

Maybe they’ll renew their tickets.

There was immediate speculation to their successors, with wild reports identifying former Cubs and Red Sox World Series champion Theo Epstein, Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo or former Milwaukee Brewers vice president David Stearns as potential candidates.

The truth is that Reinsdorf already has someone in mind.

Chris Getz, 39, who spent the past seven years overseeing the White Sox minor league operations and player development after a seven-year playing career, is expected to be named the next White Sox GM.

Dayton Moore, the Texas Rangers’ senior advisor of baseball operations who spent 16 years as the Kansas City Royals GM, could also join Getz in a key front-office position. The two close friends worked together in Kansas City where they won back-to-back pennants and the 2015 World Series championship.

It likely will be weeks before the White Sox make an official decision, but Getz and Moore are the overwhelming favorites to be running the White Sox baseball operations before the season’s conclusion.

White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, who was hired last November, is safe, officials say, at least for now. He’s in the first year of a three-year contract, and while White Sox players have complained publicly and about lack of discipline and leadership, the front office isn’t blaming Grifol for their 49-77 record.

Grifol is scheduled to meet Wednesday night with Reinsdorf and Tony La Russa, who is back working as a White Sox consultant. La Russa resigned as manager after last season to deal with lengthy cancer treatments, but has been medically cleared to work again, and recently scouted the White Sox’s minor-league system. Grifol is expected to be asked what went wrong this year, how does he plan to fix it, and what personnel changes are needed.

Certainly, there’s plenty of work to be done for the White Sox to be relevant again after their promising rebuild lasted just 1 ½ seasons. They went from a wild-card team in 2020, a division champion in 2021, a .500 team in 2022, to the fourth-worst team in baseball.

“Ultimately, the well-worn cliché that professional sports is results-oriented is correct,’’ Reinsdorf said in a statement. “While we have enjoyed successes as an organization, and were optimistic heading into the competitive window of this rebuild, this year has proven to be very disappointing for us all on many levels.’’

Yep, just like last year. And so many seasons preceding this one.

Reinsdorf was patient, perhaps to a fault, but he wants to badly win another World Series title, at least before he considers selling the franchise one day.

It was painful for Reinsdorf to cut them loose with a year remaining on their contracts, saying Williams was like a son to him, but knew he had to make a change in leadership.

“We failed and Jerry did what he had to do ….’’ Williams said. “Nothing changes with us. I will be there for him as I always have been and respect his decision to look for a new voice to lead the organization.

“He deserved better.’’

Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf cleans house, looks for successor