5 things that went wrong for the 2022 Chicago White Sox

1. Tony La Russa

Tony La Russa did a terrible job managing the Chicago White Sox in 2022.

The now ex-Sox-manager is retiring for health reasons but many fans wanted him gone anyway. He made baffling decisions – the constant need to play Leury Garcia, who should be a utility player off the bench and not a starter was just one of them.

There was the 1-2 intentional walk against the Dodgers. Then the decision to play a clearly hurt Luis Robert against the Baltimore Orioles. That was followed by the decision to let Michael Kopech start against Kansas City when was clearly injured.

There was also injury management. It was touched on in the previous paragraph and it’s probably not all La Russa’s fault but it was bizarre that players would be asked to not hustle to avoid exacerbating injuries. Why were these players in the lineup in the first place?

Then there’s the culture. When La Russa was hired, Sox fans worried he’d be too old school to work with today’s modern-day athlete.

Instead, anecdotes from beat reporters and direct quotes from players like Liam Hendriks suggest that La Russa wasn’t hard enough on players who weren’t giving their best.

It’s arguable how much effect a manager had on the poor play – the Sox were horrific on defense, and on the basepaths, and the power went out of their bats. Certainly, the manager has to have some influence over execution and plate approach.

The blame does not all lay with Tony La Russa. But most Sox fans seem relieved that he’s moving on even as we all also hope his health improves.