White Sox: 3 candidates to consider for managerial opening

2. A.J. Pierzynski

Former Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski wants to manage in the league.

Typically, when the Chicago White Sox are in search of a new manager, the search generally leads them back toward a familiar face. That was the case with Ozzie Guillen, Robin Ventura, and most recently, Tony La Russa. There is an intriguing familiar face that the White Sox may want to consider.

That familiar face is former catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Pierzynski is a folk hero within the White Sox organization given his efforts with the 2005 World Series winning team and didn’t rule out the possibility of managing the White Sox when asked about the possibility earlier this season:

"“Listen, I’m not actively out there pursuing it or (hoping) for anything to happen to Tony for me to do that. But if something happened, and all the cards lined up and the chips fell into place. … If (Chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf calls me and says ‘Can you come in for this interview?’ it’s going to be really hard for me to say no.”"

Pierzynski does not have managerial experience but has been involved with baseball since his playing days as he has served as an analyst for national games on Fox Sports.

There is precedent for such a move as the Chicago Cubs hired David Ross as their manager in 2020 after he spent a few seasons in the media after his playing days.