White Sox fans hope potential ownership change can make them "a great team again"
Amid another dismal season on the South Side, White Sox fans saw a new ray of hope on Thursday, after the team announced a deal that could see owner Jerry Reinsdorf hand over control of the team to a new owner in the next few years.
The 89-year-old Reinsdorf has reached an agreement with billionaire Justin Ishbia, who is a co-owner of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, to sell the controlling stake of the White Sox — although not before 2029.
Sox fans said the potential sale could be a very good thing for a team on pace for its third consecutive 100-loss season, after setting the Major League Baseball record for losses in 2024 with a 41-121 record.
Tailgating before Thursday's game against the Tigers, White Sox fan Joey Privia said word that Reinsdorf is in the beginning stages of selling the team to Ishbia couldn't come sooner.
"They should be taking control today," he said. "The Sox need a boost, and [Reinsdorf] hasn't been giving it any money to boost them up back where they need to be to compete with the other teams in the league."
Fans have openly shared their displeasure about Reinsdorf in the stands in recent years, with chants of "Sell The Team" erupting at Rate Field multiple times amid their extended stretch of poor play.
Sox fan George Stamas said he hopes, as a sale moves forward, the team stays in Chicago.
"Chicago needs two teams. The South Side has had a team over a 100 years, and for the Sox to leave, I think would be a shame if that's the case, but if they keep it local, and they infuse some cash in here, it would be a great team again."
With a great team in mind, Stamas said he hopes the potential ownership change also can bring the Sox another World Series championship. The White Sox have reached the playoffs only three times since winning the 2005 World Series, with only three total playoff wins in that time.
But fellow fan Amy Monesmith said she thinks it's a good thing that it will be at least a few years before Ishbia can buy the team.
"I think it'll be good that it's a slow transition, that there's a couple years before he has the option to buy it outright, so he can kind of see what he does with that time," White Sox fan Amy Monesmith said.
Regardless of when Ishbia might take control of the team, Reed Monesmith said changes need to be made within the White Sox organization.
"Once we can see some of those changes, and if that makes any difference, then that could make a better purchase later on. Yeah, we'll have to see how things go," he said.
Melissa Gullatte explained the changes she'd like to see on the South Side.
"I think in leadership, definitely, in the players that we receive, and the interest in Sox as a whole. I think maybe if we get a different leadership, a different group, maybe that would add more interest to the team and get more fans out to the stands," she said.
Regardless of when Ishbia might take control of the White Sox, fans are hoping he keeps them in Chicago.
There has been speculation in recent years that Reinsdorf could seek to move the team to Nashville, after he met with the mayor of Nashville during Major League Baseball's 2023 winter meetings. In addition to being co-owner of the Suns and Mercury, Ishbia is also a minority owner of the Major League Soccer club Nashville SC, and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
It was in 1981 when Jerry Reinsdorf bought the team from former White Sox owner Bill Veeck.
