Rick Hahn and Company voted for, and got, Pedro!
Pedro Grifol is officially the new manager at 35th and Shields.
Rick Hahn announced this morning that the former bench coach of the Kansas City Royals “blew his socks off” during the interview process and is thrilled to bring him on. Hahn looked to be on cloud nine as he delivered the news.
"You may see me smiling a little bit more than you have in the past year," said Rick Hahn.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) November 3, 2022
Grifol was the Mariners director of minor league operations from 2009-11. He joined the Royals organization in 2013 and was promoted to bench coach in 2020. Whether considered “recent championship experience” or not, Grifol was the catching coach when the Royals won the World Series in 2015.
Grifol and Hahn spoke to media following the announcement. Communication, pregame planning, and accountability were all big themes in the messaging.
Grifol: "Here's some of the things you can expect from the 2023 White Sox. We will communicate. We will be fundamentally sound. We will play with passion and pride. We will be prepared. We will work hard and play winning baseball. And we will hold each other accountable."
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) November 3, 2022
The duo also confirmed that Charlie Montoyo would be coming on as the bench coach. Pedro added that he has only spoken to Montoyo a couple of times over the phone but was excited to bring him on. It seemed that Hahn and Grifol were on the same page of wanting to bring the former Blue Jays manager on staff — but the situation does smack of having a 1a manager in hand in case the guy you hired doesn’t work out.
As predicted, Ethan Katz and Curt Hasler will keep their coaching positions in the upcoming season. The rest of the coaching staff has yet to be determined. It should be noted, strength and conditioning was asked about in the press conference, and after a short whisper, Grifol was told not to speak on it. This would suggest that significant changes are coming.
Grifol has spent many seasons watching the White Sox from the opposite dugout, and did make a comment about how preparation for playing the South Side ball club in the past has been difficult. He said that if the energy was up, the White Sox could beat anyone in the league, but if the intensity and energy was lacking anybody could beat them. Very clearly, Grifol is hoping to bring energy and intensity day-in and -out with his new ballclub.
The new skipper surely won the press conference. Now, it will be about putting these concepts into motion.
