South Side shake-up: White Sox fire VP Ken Williams, GM Rick Hahn amid 'very disappointing' year
In a sobering organizational shake-up that severs a three-decade relationship with its top baseball executive, the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday fired executive vice president Ken Williams, the architect of their only World Series title in the last 106 years, along with general manager Rick Hahn.
Owner Jerry Reinsdorf, responding to two horrendous and dysfunctional seasons that began with championship expectations in the middling American League Central, said the decision to dismiss Williams, who began his post-playing career as a White Sox scout in 1992, and Hahn was "incredibly difficult."
"Ken is like a son to me," Reinsdorf said in a statement released by the club, "and I will always consider him a member of my family. I want to personally thank Ken and Rick for all they have done for the White Sox, winning the 2005 World Series and reaching the playoffs multiple times during their tenures."
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 22, 2023
Williams, 59, took over as White Sox GM shortly after they made the 2000 playoffs. A big league outfielder for the White Sox and three other clubs for six seasons, he brought a player's mentality and a scout's mindset to the job, setting a tone for the club's front office but increasingly seeming an outlier in an industry that further relies on analytics and chief executives raised on Wall Street.
It took just five years for Williams to reach the summit: Assembling a team that leaned heavily on starting pitching, the White Sox swept the Houston Astros in the 2005 World Series, their first title since 1917. They finished that postseason winning their last eight games, including four consecutive complete games from Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras.
The White Sox would reach the playoffs again in 2008, but miss the playoffs over the next 12 seasons until qualifying for the AL field in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. In between, Williams was promoted to executive vice president in 2012, with Hahn assuming GM duties.
Reinsdorf invited much controversy when, after the 2020 season, he got rid of manager Rick Renteria and hired 76-year-old Hall of Famer Tony La Russa. While the move was mocked by sectors of the media and fans, the White Sox won 93 games and the AL Central title in 2021.
A year later, though, it all fell apart.
La Russa eventually stepped away from the club due to health problems, but the season had spiraled out of control long before then and the White Sox struggled to an 81-81 season. The hiring of Pedro Grifol as manager ostensibly would solidify things, but this year's Sox have been terrible, toting a record of 49-76 into this week.
Reinsdorf, loyal to a fault, finally acknowledged a staid and probably outdated organization needed a reboot.
"Ultimately, the well-worn cliche that professional sports is results-oriented is correct," Reinsdorf said. "This year has proven to be difficult for us on many levels."
The White Sox said a search for a "single decision-maker" to lead the baseball operations department will commence, and that a replacement is expected to be in place by the end of the season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: White Sox fire longtime executives Ken Williams, Rick Hahn
