CLEVELAND – Ken Williams was asked to talk about what life after baseball is like.
“Who told you I was done with baseball?” Williams told the Sun-Times by phone Wednesday.
The former White Sox executive vice president, fired by chairman Jerry Reinsdorf along with general manager Rick Hahn in August in a surprising pair of moves, has been busy as executive chairman and founder of CLARA, a tool designed to mitigate bias in hiring processes, level the playing field for candidates and help organizations find untapped talent. Williams vowed to do something about the lack of diversity in boardrooms, he said, and got this operation going before he was let go.
But he wants back in the business of baseball. For the man who famously said “Stay out of White Sox business,” it won’t be White Sox business but there is unfinished business for him nonetheless.
"To be part of winning a championship is a very special thing,” said Williams, 60, who oversaw the Sox’ 2005 World Series title as GM with Hahn as assistant GM. “And once you have, it kind of gnaws at you, and man, over the last few years, especially knowing the talent we had, it's an achy feeling, almost a crippling feeling to not accomplish that goal. So yeah, I'd love to be part of one more and then I can say goodbye."
With Reinsdorf’s backing, Williams and Hahn set sights on one more title with a rebuild started in late 2016. It produced a Wild Card in 2020 and AL Central title in 2021, but no advancements beyond the initial rounds in the postseason, and then everything unraveled in 2022. Another rebuild is ongoing under GM Chris Getz.
Williams lamented the Sox’ rash of “odd and crippling” injuries for preventing the goal.
"The end result wasn't good and sports is an unforgiving world,” he said.
Failure notwithstanding, the firing hit Williams hard.
“I can't deny that it did, but I had had conversations with [Jerry] that ‘Hey, if you feel like you need a different voice it's not going to affect our relationship,’’ Williams said. “I made that promise and kept it. I don't comment on anything White Sox. You haven't heard me say one word about that whole scenario and the replacements in effect, and you won't. ... out of respect for Jerry. Just Jerry.”
So don’t ask about the 2024 Sox and the direction of the organization.
“As I used to say back in the day, that's White Sox business and it's not my business any more,” he said.
If Williams gets a call from a team he believes he can help win, he will listen.
“If I don't get that call then you can write about life after baseball,” he said.
“I don't know if it's sitting in the [GM] chair again -- my ego doesn't need it -- or serving as an advisor. Accomplishing the goal is accomplishing the goal. It's a desire to help a club in whatever capacity seems to be the best fit.”
No longer a fit on the South Side, Williams remains in contact with Reinsdorf “all the time” nonetheless, he said. But a future baseball job would likely be with another team.
“I don’t think I have to worry about that because when you’re relieved of your duties that is a strong indication you’re not wanted,” Williams said.
Hearing Williams laugh at length after saying that is to believe he’s not bitter.
"I would have liked to be saying goodbye to the people in the front office and any fans that supported us in my tenure, but it didn't unfold that way and that's the way it goes,” he said.
With a resume of player, scout, director of player development, 12 years as GM and 11 as vice president, it's no surprise Williams had “some feelers” in the offseason but he needed to be away. He said he was oblivious to the Sox’ awful start to this season.
“Somebody a month into the season had to tell me what was going on and I was like, “Oh, wow,’ ’’ said Williams, who went “cold turkey” to distance himself from baseball and just now is paying attention again.
“I needed a break and I needed to miss it,’’ he said. “I needed to feel that thing, right? They say when something in your life happens unexpectedly you should give it a year before making decisions.”
August will be a year.
“It may be a situation where the wind takes you away,” he said. “Sometimes you take time off and are forgotten. Or people reassess you and determine you’re better than what the last guy thought and will give you an opportunity."
