Kevin Pillar Says White Sox Sold Him On Dream Things Would Be Better

It’s not easy playing for the White Sox these days, but coming over from a winning culture has made things even harder for some White Sox veterans. Kevin Pillar went from playing for the Atlanta Braves to the Chicago White Sox a change that he called “night and day different.” 

Pillar played 81 games with the Braves last season, who went on to win 104 games and finished atop the NL East standings. Like the Braves, the White Sox were projected to win their division. Unlike the Braves they imploded and lost 101 games. 

Despite not having a robust market of teams calling him in free agency, Pillar initially hesitated to sign with the White Sox this offseason. It’s something that Pillar acknowledged during an appearance on the White Sox Talk Podcast. 

“When I came here, I have friends that are in this clubhouse that have been here the last couple years. I got former teammates that played in here and to be honest it wasn’t the most positive things said about the organization. So there is definitely some hesitancy of wanting to come here,” Pillar said.

To make the White Sox a more attractive destination, White Sox general manager Chris Getz targeted defensive upgrades and veterans who he thought could help with the culture. It was one of the things he sold Pillar on. But after being designated for assignment to make room for Tommy Pham, Pillar says he feels deceived by the vision that Getz promised. He shared his thoughts with former White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier during a recent appearance on Foul Territory. 

“It was night and day and day different,” Pillar said when asked about the difference between playing for the Braves and the White Sox. “I got kind of you know sold on a dream that things would be better and I will tell you that inside those clubhouse walls in Chicago in terms of relationships and the way that players go about their work and the way that we care about each other from everything that I have heard from afar from before it’s night and day different.

The guys we all get along. We show up hoping to be great, we’re hoping today is the day we get a win this is the day we turn things around. It’s not for a lack of effort or a lack of trying. But yeah it’s completely different coming from the Braves where the expectation was World Series or bust.” 

Pillar added that there was a tangible feeling of confidence when he walked into Braves camp and that he could sense the attention to detail and work ethic needed to win a World Series. Getz was hoping that Pillar’s experience in Atlanta would rub off on the White Sox locker room. 

“I think that’s part of the reason the White Sox were attracted to a guy like me. To come into that type of situation and kind of bring that experience of, not only being with the Braves but being with the Dodgers before and being part of winning cultures and what that is supposed to look like. ” Pillar said. “I would say for the most part during spring it was kind of this build-up to starting to believe that and I felt like the first four, five games of the season we were competing we just couldn’t get a win. It felt like we were so close and then injuries happened and the wheels fell off a little bit.” 

According to Pillar, the White Sox 3-22 record wasn’t for a lack of effort. The players wanted to be successful but it was tough getting out of a slump when it seemed like everyone else on the team was struggling. 

“There’s no one over there that’s really just performing really well.,” Pillar explained. “You look to the guy to your left and your right and they're performing just as poor as you are and you're looking at each other for answers and sometimes in this game, there are no answers.”

The 35-year-old veteran slashed .160/.290/.360 with one home run, four RBIs, and two stolen bases during his 25 at-bats with the White Sox.