Following the underwhelming Tony La Russa years, the Chicago White Sox entrusted Pedro Grifol to take over a talented team in 2023 that many felt should have competed for a spot in the playoffs. Grifol was fired in 2024 after going 89-190 in two seasons with the White Sox.
The first-time manager never seemed to have control of the clubhouse, and former outfielder Clint Frazier helped enlighten fans on just how dysfunctional the team was under Grifol.
Former Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol had 0 control
Per a clip posted by Foul Territory, Frazier said that Grifol took no action when a (non-named) player threatened him during a game after being called out for an on-field performance issue.
“Challenging the people in charge was all I saw—like prisoners running the asylum,” Frazier said of the 2023 White Sox. “A player did not hustle down the line. In his eyes, he didn’t know where the ball went, but in the manager’s eyes, he was not gonna have that. So he went over to this certain individual and was like, ‘Why aren’t you hustling? Like, I’m gonna take you out of the game.’
“And this was, like, the first couple of days I was there. This guy looked back at the manager and was just basically like, ‘You take me out this game, we’re going to have a serious problem,’ and the guy was like, ‘Are you threatening me?’
“And he goes, ‘Take me out of this game, we’re gonna have a serious problem.’ And like, this guy did not come out of the game, and I was like ‘Holy.’ This guy threatened the manager, and he stayed in the game and was in the lineup every day.”
“If you take me out of this game, we’re going to have a serious problem.”@ClintFrazier recalls the moment a teammate threatened former manager Pedro Grifol during his time with the White Sox. pic.twitter.com/qQSwq72QJm
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 20, 2025
The 2023 White Sox went 61-101 and finished fourth in the AL Central. Grifol went 28-89 in 2024, helping Chicago to reach a modern-day worst record in the league.
Frazier makes it sound like Grifol had no idea how to coach rising stars on the team. The White Sox never appeared disciplined under La Russa or Grifol and wasted a team that could have been great.
The signs of dysfunction were evident in 2023 when Luis Robert Jr. said he didn’t know who was a leader in the clubhouse.
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