Jerry Reinsdorf Can Only Allow Major Changes On His Terms

On Thursday, the Chicago White Sox hired Tony La Russa as the team's new manager despite the massive displeasure of fans. La Russa is 76 years old and has not managed a team since 2011 in which he led the St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series title. Fans are furious with owner Jerry Reinsdorf who was instrumental in the hired despite reports that he wasn't. The hiring demonstrates just another example of Reinsdorf's inability to allow change without him getting involved in some way.

White Sox and Bulls fans have developed strong negative views of Reinsdorf over the last few decades as he has been heavily involved in significant franchise-altering decisions. Those decisions include the decision to dismantle the Michael Jordan Bulls, not moving on from John Paxson as Bulls' president sooner, or not allowing White Sox executives to spend on top-tier free agents. Reinsdorf has played a role in all those decisions.

From the White Sox side of things, fans have been furious with the owners for the past several years. Before the team's rebuild in December of 2016, many were frustrated with the team's continued mediocrity and their refusal to fire manager Robin Ventura. When Ventura resigned after 2016, fans were skeptical of the rebuild as many believed that when the time came, Reinsdorf would not spend money on top-tier free agents.

Fans were proven right in the winter of 2018 when the team missed signing All-Star players Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Heading into the offseason, the White Sox had the second lowest pay-roll in all of baseball and could afford a plus-300 million dollar contract. The team lost Machado to the Padres as they refused to guarantee a final year and instead offered a team option involving incentives. Reinsdorf's involvement was key as he was hesitant to guarantee that much money for the latter part of a contract.

For the longest time, Reinsdorf has been labeled as "cheap" due to his unwillingness to hand out large contracts. Even with the signings of All-Stars Yasmani Grandal and Dallas Keuchel last offseason, the White Sox have never had a player sign a contract that eclipsed 100 million dollars. When the team parted ways with manager Rick Renteria following the team's first-round playoff loss, many fans believed the team would make a big hire for their managerial position. With a young core of players about to enter their prime, many analysts felt the White Sox's manager's job would be the most desired job available. Excitement turned to fear when La Russa's name was first mentioned as a possibility due to Reinsdorf's other negative trait, which is his unwavering loyalty to former players and coaches. With candidates such as AJ Hinch and Alex Cora available, general manager Rick Hahn was forced to hire the former White Sox manager who was let go 34 years ago.

Fans are not happy with La Russa's age or his time away from the game and blame Reinsdorf for the hire. The owner has allowed for a lot of changes with his franchises the last several years but has undermined significant decisions along the way. Instead of just letting decisions to take place, Reinsdorf has gotten involved and influenced major decisions without letting them play out on their own.