The Chicago White Sox finished fourth in the American League Central in 2023 with a dreadful record of 61-101. They had the third-worst record in the entire American League and in addition to poor play on the field, the team dealt away a number of key veterans in various trades and also reportedly dealt with massive clubhouse issues.
We heard about them first last year when Keynan Middleton was traded to the New York Yankees and Lance Lynn was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and now former Sox' closer Liam Hendriks is the latest to speak out.
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“We had too many guys pulling in different directions, too many cooks in the kitchen trying to fix what they thought was [wrong],” Hendriks told the Chicago Sun-Times. “There’s a lot of Type-A people in a clubhouse. You’ve got certain people thinking, ‘This is the way it’s got to go.’ Certain people want to fix something, so they just scream and yell until someone fixes it. There wasn’t, honestly, enough positivity and eagerness to go out there and play on a day-to-day basis.”
Unfortunately, this all makes sense. The White Sox came into the 2023 season with high expectations and then failed to perform at every level. When you have a veteran team that massively underachives, this kind of splintering is common. Young teams where everyone is growing can tend to stay together (like the Royals), while a team like the Sox can fold.
As for Hendriks, he just signed a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. He's expected to miss the 2024 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
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