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This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin's White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Winning produces good clubhouses.
It's a statement from many people not only associated with Major League Baseball, but sports of all levels across the country. Don’t get me wrong -- winning cures all and is the overarching reason players suit up.
But close-knit clubhouses also can lead to success. This idea was reinforced in my mind this past weekend with Freddy Garcia, A.J. Pierzynski, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland in town from the 2005 World Series champion White Sox for the annual Field of Greens golf outing, which was ultimately postponed until Sept. 11 due to inclement weather.
That 2005 group had something special from Day 1 of Spring Training.
“Man, we were a bunch of guys, for me, that is family,” said Garcia before throwing out a first pitch prior to Friday’s game against the Brewers. “We had, like, really good times. [When] we played on the road, we go out, we eat.
“We talk about the game. We stay after the game talking about stuff. I don’t think that happens anymore. We had Ozzie [Guillen] as the manager. He took care of the media. We don’t have to worry about anything. We just show up and play hard, man. That’s why we won that year.”
The White Sox won that year because they were one of the more underrated, undervalued champions of all time. They won 99 regular-season games, they were in first place from start to finish and they finished 11-1 in the postseason.
They didn’t have an "us against the world" mentality but it was more of "we know we are good, so let’s show it." It wasn't a perfect season, but as an example of that clubhouse camaraderie, I’ve heard stories of how this group was together frequently on the road and it was expected for everyone to join together.
So, is that cohesive absence what hurt this 2023 White Sox squad, sitting at a 47-72 record entering this two-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field? It seems unlikely, as it was a roster not constructed for championship play and key injuries didn’t help.
As has been discussed over the past week to 10 days, though, there also was something missing in the clubhouse. Closer Liam Hendriks, who has been one of the leaders over the past two years, spoke of how any of those disagreements or team issues are player-driven in their handling.
“You have 26 guys in the clubhouse, and let’s be honest, athletes tend to have some egos,” Hendriks said. “You’ve got 26 guys with somewhat inflated egos, myself included, and you’re always going to butt heads. I have different philosophical views on the ways a clubhouse should be than other guys. I like to maintain positivity and harping on the good things rather than the negative things, and some people are the other way.
“No way is wrong and no way is right. It just matters that you mesh together. We had some butting of heads that no one was willing to back down, no one was willing to concede. No one was willing to do that.
“That there really causes a rift,” Hendriks added. “Now, hopefully we can take the egos aside and we can get to a point where we’re pushing for next year and we can get the right frame of mind, the right views on the way things should be run and everybody is going to concede at some point, everyone is going to make a compromise.”