Jerry Reinsdorf is at it once again.
The Bulls and White Sox owner effectively delivered a threat about the future of his baseball team through a 1-on-1 interview with Crain’s Chicago Business, saying a new stadium was needed in order for the South Siders to compete with the top teams in Majors.
“The economics of baseball have completely changed,” Reinsdorf said in the interview. “At the location we’re at now, we cannot generate the revenue needed to pay those salaries.” This is the same man who scoffed at the Dodgers handing Ohtani $700 million, saying the White Sox were not going to “be in that business”.
It can’t work both ways. You don’t get to say you’re not going to spend money, then turn around and blame the neighborhood currently hosting your team for not drawing enough revenue for you to compete. Guaranteed Rate Park in Bridgeport isn’t exactly in the most bustling part of town, but it’s easily accessible by public transit and has generally drawn decent crowds when the White Sox are competitive. As for improving the surrounding area, that’s on Reinsdorf too. The United Center has the same problem, but the Bulls don’t have a second NBA team to compete with and therefore don’t have the issues the White Sox do.
The new ballpark site would be a boost
Let’s get one thing straight; a new stadium in the more happening South Loop neighborhood would be better for the team and city. South Loop has seen solid development over the last five years, especially when it comes to apartments and restaurants. The White Sox would benefit from moving to the proposed site, which is still highly accessible by public transit. The land, which is owned by development company Related Midwest, would ideally be built up to resemble something like Ballpark Village in St. Louis, the Battery in Atlanta or L.A. Live near Crypto.com Arena. The proposed site is projected to bring $4 billion in economic impact and an additional $200 million in tax revenue, according to Related Midwest. Here’s what Reinsdorf had to say about this.
“At the end of the day, the benefits to the city and state are going to outweigh the cost. This is not (just) a ballpark. This is a development of which the ballpark is the anchor.”
I, along with most Chicago and Illinois residents, can tell you right now both numbers are wildly optimistic. If those projections were even close to being accurate, Reinsdorf would have already put up the $1.1 billion needed to get this thing rolling.
What Reinsdorf wants
The billionaire owner would like the public to fork up that money instead, and that’s where the whole scheme should come into focus. This is all about enriching himself and his family while he still can, regardless of what he or the other parties attached to this project can say about the hotel tax subsidies and the long-term benefits. Chicagoans are well aware of the games politicians have played for years for financial gain, so of course Reinsdorf had to issue a warning if the taxpayers didn’t help him out.
The majority owner hinted the team could leave the city for good once its lease at Guaranteed Rate ends in 2029, especially if he passes away. He said he expects the Bulls to remain due to his son Michael’s involvement there, but the White Sox are sizably backed by investors who would move the team. This comes on the heels of Reinsdorf meeting with Nashville officials about potentially moving the White Sox there. And it’s worth noting that the owner was successful with this tactic back in the 1980s, when he threatened to move the team to Tampa Bay and got another new ballpark out of the deal.
What Chicago should do about the stadium
Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker already said he doesn’t have the appetite for a publicly funded stadium, and denied public financing to the Ricketts family when it attempted to secure funds for the Cubs. The owners ended up putting up the money themselves. It’s not a perfect comparison because the Cubs have always outdrawn the White Sox and the area surrounding Wrigley Field is a money machine all year, but the precedent is there to deny Reinsdorf.
The city, and state, are once again facing a big budget deficit. What seems clear is the White Sox will not play at Guaranteed Rate Field once the current lease is up. The question is whether they’ll remain in Chicago. There’s plenty of better ways to spend $1.1 billion, and while I don’t necessarily trust city officials to use those dollars wisely, I certainly would feel better giving them that money than a notorious penny pincher.
The White Sox owner has famously not handed out a $100 million contract, following in the footsteps of the Oakland Athletics as the only other MLB franchise to not give one. The A’s have somehow still won games, making the playoffs five times from 2008-20 — coincidentally, the gap the White Sox had between playoff appearances. Chicago did make the postseason in the 60-game COVID sprint season and ultimately lost in the Wild Card round to…the A’s. In fact, only the Marlins, Mariners and Padres did not make the playoffs once between 2008-20. Every other MLB team has made it multiple times.
If Reinsdorf wants a new stadium, he should pay for it himself. Because if the team is going to be sold once he passes away anyway, the chances of it leaving the city seem quite high. Why should Chicago be on the hook for a stadium that could potentially be empty in five years?
What the White Sox should do with the roster
I have a simple opinion when it comes to owners complaining about their franchises. Nearly every problem you could possibly have can be solved by spending money. That’s especially true in baseball, where there is no salary cap and a hilariously deep farm system. If you invest in the operation, you should see results.
Reinsdorf, as mentioned above, clearly hasn’t done that. He’s opted to play the blame game instead, saying the fan base has refused to support a team that fell flat in a 2022 season loaded with expectations before losing 101 games in 2023. At this point, it’s safe to say he doesn’t care about the Bulls or White Sox and is just hoping to squeeze more dollars out. He can do that if he wants, but now the White Sox have to navigate the next few seasons carefully.
While the option to go completely nuclear and lay waste to the franchise is tempting, it’s not going to happen. Reinsdorf’s “yes men” are all over the organization, and too many people depend on the team financially for that to happen. That leaves two paths.
Consistent mediocrity
There’s a quote from “Up in the Air” where George Clooney, who works for a service that fires employees so the bosses don’t have to face them, asks Anna Kendrick what it is she thinks his company does. Kendrick’s character gives the standard answer with some financial mumbo jumbo but Clooney’s character provides a much simpler one.
“We’re here to make limbo tolerable.”
The White Sox are in a state of limbo given Reinsdorf’s latest comments, and this option provides a steady source of competitiveness mixed with disappointment. It doesn’t do anything for the franchise but it keeps the money machine ticking which is all the owner cares about. The White Sox went 11 seasons without a playoff berth but only lost more than 90 games three times in that span. They were not good but not bad. They were tolerable.
The core of Luis Robert, Dylan Cease, Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn, all of whom arrived in the system under current GM Chris Getz, are entering their respective primes. Of course, it takes more than four players to make any franchise a contender but the cupboard isn’t completely barren. If those core players can sustain their play, there’s a chance Getz can plug enough around them even with limited financial support to at least win 75-80 games consistently.
The perfect hand
I’ll go back to a Clooney quote for the second option, which comes from the most rewatchable movie of all time: Ocean’s 11.
“Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, then you take the house.”
The White Sox just lost 101 games in 2023, even with Robert making the All-Star team and Vaughn, Jimenez and Cease being tolerable. The farm system does have promising young shortstop Colson Montgomery but not much else. Why not undergo a complete rebuild and hope to have a contender in the final years at the Rate?
Getz did this before to assemble the current group, even though he was technically working under Rick Hahn. He’s said no one is “untouchable” and according to reports, seriously explored dealing Cease before the season. Jimenez and Vaughn will not bring back great returns, but Cease could bring back a couple useful prospects. Robert is hard to part with as a 26-year old All-Star but he could bring back some prospects and immediate impact guys.
Typically, I’d be against this approach. The Bulls have already been burned by letting Jimmy Butler, who has made two NBA Finals since leaving the Windy City, go. Robert, Cease, Jimenez and Vaughn are all 28 or younger. Jettisoning that level of talent is difficult, even after 2023’s debacle. However, Reinsdorf isn’t willing to spend money on this team. What reason does Getz have to believe he will be able to adequately surround that quartet with talent to compete?
Blowing everything up will have some immediate negative consequences but those were largely already there. Fans weren’t attending games anyway and another 100-loss season without hope for the future would do more damage than a rebuild. It’s time for the White Sox to embrace another teardown and hope they can field a truly competitive unit in the final years at Bridgeport.