Wanna feel old? White Sox interim Pedro Grifol replacement is a former rival
By Scott Rogust
![Chicago White Sox v Cleveland Guardians Chicago White Sox v Cleveland Guardians](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_8040,h_4522,x_0,y_230/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/229/01j4sgxz021p37e7cb8r.jpg)
The Chicago White Sox watched their 21-game losing streak end on Tuesday night with a 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. But on Wednesday night, the White Sox lost 3-2 to Oakland. On Thursday, team ownership and the front office decided they had seen enough from manager Pedro Grifol.
On Thursday, the White Sox officially announced they were firing Grifol as manager. This comes after a 28-89 record this year and an 89-190 overall record in over a year since taking over the role.
With Grifol out, the focus is on who the team will hire to replace him for next season and, hopefully, for the foreseeable future. But what about for the rest of the season? One interim option was bench coach Charlie Montoyo, but he was relieved of his duties alongside Grifol. We now know who will be the interim manager for the White Sox, and it's a former division rival.
The White Sox named Grady Sizemore as the interim manager for Chicago for the rest of the season. Sizemore, of course, was a former three-time All-Star for the now Cleveland Guardians.
The Chicago White Sox have named Grady Sizemore as their interim manager after firing Pedro Grifol earlier today. The team said it plans to name a permanent replacement after the regular season ends.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 8, 2024
Sizemore was a three-time All-Star with Cleveland over a 10-year career.
White Sox name former Cleveland All-Star Grady Sizemore as interim manager
This will be weird for White Sox fans to see, but Sizemore isn't new to the organization, as he was hired to join Grifol's staff before the start of this season. This was his first chance to be a major league coach. Now, he will run the White Sox for the remainder of the year, where the team will then look for a long-term replacement.
Sizemore made a name for himself when he began his playing career with Cleveland, after being acquired from the Montreal Expos alongside Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips for Bartolo Colon. During his eight-year tenure with Cleveland, Sizemore was named to the All-Star Game three times, won two Gold Glove awards, and earned one Silver Slugger award.
Overall, Sizemore recorded a .269 batting average, a .357 on-base percentage, a .473 slugging percentage, 139 home runs, 458 RBI, 601 runs, and 948 hits in 3,527 at-bats.
During his 10-year playing career, Sizemore slashed .241/.315/.389 while recording 12 home runs, 55 RBI, 71 runs, and 104 hits in 432 at-bats (109 games).
Now, Sizemore is responsible for trying to turn things around for the White Sox, as they try to avoid setting the record for most losses in a season in the modern era, previously set by the 1962 New York Mets (120 losses).
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