Why did Josh Barfield come to the White Sox? Here's the supernatural sign he received
Why did Josh Barfield come to the White Sox? Here's the supernatural sign he received originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Chris Getz swiftly assembled a team of executives to usher into the White Sox' overhauled front office this offseason.
One of them he poached was Josh Barfield, the South Side's new assistant general manager. Barfield was previously the farm director of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a place he called "family" for the last nine years.
What attracted him to the job with the White Sox?
"It had to be the right situation to leave," Barfield told NBC Sports Chicago's Chuck Garfien on the White Sox Talk podcast. "The more I got to talk with Chris, the more I dug into it, there's so much possibility here. That's what intrigued me. There's a lot of talent on the roster. You have an owner who cares about the team. I think there were a lot of things that were attractive about the position."
It wasn't just the potential Barfield held an affinity for on the South Side. He claims he received a supernatural sign that gave him a confirmation he should take the job in Chicago.
What pushed him over the edge?
"My wife, she's from Arizona, like I said, we had a very good situation here for us and our family," Barfield said. "When the opportunity came, we started discussing it and things just started lining up. It was almost meant to be. But it was still a tough decision.
"I had just gotten off the phone with Chris, he had made the offer. We were driving home from picking up my daughter and we stop at the light. We're about a half mile or so from our house. And she looks up and she says 'Do you see that?' And I was like 'Yeah, I do.' She's like 'That's gotta be a sign.' I'm like 'I don't know what could be a clearer sign.'
"It was an Audi sitting in front of us at the light with Arizona plates but it had 'Sox 29.' Twenty-nine was the only number I wore in the big leagues and my dad wore in the big leagues. I think that's what pushed us over the edge."
As he said, I don't know what could be a clearer sign. A Sox plate in Arizona? With his and his dad's exact number from his playing days? Talk about a supernatural act.
Barfield said the Diamondbacks came back with another offer. But the Diamondbacks quietly encouraged Barfield to take the job in Chicago, knowing it was an excellent opportunity to advance his career and take on a new challenge.
He graciously accepted Getz's offer to become the new assistant general manager, having the license plate in his mind to cement his decision. Nonetheless, he earned the position from the incredible work he accomplished in Arizona.
Since Barfield took over as the director, the Diamondbacks have had a top-10 farm system in every season since 2019. They have the 10th-best system this season, sixth in 2022, fourth in 2021, seventh in 2020 and fifth in 2019. The Diamondbacks are currently in the NLCS playoffs.
He had plenty of positive notes for the White Sox' current farm system. He tipped his cap to them for the prospects they received at the previous MLB trade deadline. Barfield has plenty of optimism for Colson Montgomery and Bryan Ramos, too.
He knows the road in front of him is long. But he has faith the White Sox can make a change.
"There's work to be done, for sure. But I think it's very possible to turn this thing around."
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