Rick Renteria gets last laugh at White Sox expense with Manager of the Year nomination

The Chicago White Sox fired Rick Renteria despite taking the team to the playoffs. Now, he’s a Manager of the Year finalist.

2020 was a great year for the Chicago White Sox. Despite finishing a game behind the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central title, the White Sox were able to clinch a postseason berth for the first time since 2008 under the managing of Rick Renteria. Even with the successful season, the White Sox shockingly opted to cut ties with Renteria, so they could hire Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa. Days after the news, Renteria got the last laugh.

On Monday night, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America revealed that Renteria is a finalist for AL Manager of the Year, alongside Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays and Charlie Montoyo of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Renteria earns his first Manager of the Year nomination

The timing of Renteria’s firing was odd, to say the least. Sure, Renteria never managed to finish with a regular season with a record above .500 for his first four years with the organization, but he was hired to lead this team through its rebuild.

Prior to the 2020 season, the White Sox spent big money in free agency on catcher Yasmani Grandal and pitcher Dallas Keuchel. The White Sox managed to finish the truncated season with a 35-25 record but struggled in the final 10-game stretch of the season, where they went 2-8. Despite that skid, the White Sox clinched a postseason berth. They matched up against the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card Round, where they were eliminated in the penultimate contest of the best-of-three series.

The organization saw that they’re on the cusp of World Series contention, but felt that Renteria wasn’t the man to help them reach their new lofty goal. While they found a way to lure La Russa out of retirement, the White Sox have to live with the fact that they let a Manager of the Year finalist walk out the door.