chicago white sox history
chicago white sox history
As the saying goes in sports, winning cures all ills. This may or may not be true, but when it comes to fans purchasing Chicago White Sox tickets, that saying is right on the “money”. On the heels of their first world championship in 88 years, the White Sox have sold all their season tickets for 2006. Now don’t panic Sox fans, the season ticket base is 21,500. U.s. Cellular Field holds 41,000 so there is ample opportunity to attend games on the great south side of Chicago. Last year’s base was 12,500, so White fans have responded in a way never expected for a team that has played second fiddle to the Cubs for many years. While that team on the North Side still struggles to get to the World Series, the White Sox and well positioned for a return trip.
The White Sox have built an incredibly strong organization featuring a powerful owner in Jerry Reinsdorf, an aggressive GM in Kenny Williams and a skillful Manager in Ozzie Guillen. Each piece of this hierarchy depends on the other for total success. But one must wonder how the Sox would have ever won in 2005 if not for Williams. The GM is a former football player from, Stanford and 3rd round draft choice of the White Sox in 1986. Williams’ six seasons in Major League Baseball were unremarkable and eventually ended up in management back with the White Sox. Taking over GM duties from Ron Schueler in 2000, Williams brought his aggressive football nature to the job. Earning the nickname “Trader Kenny” around town, Williams would not be satisfied until victory was achieved. He challenged fans to purchase Chicago White Sox tickets so as to insure the working capital to bring in the players that were needed. When the season wore on and the team was close, Williams would always find a way to improve the team. But it wasn’t until he brought in Ozzie Guillen that the team finally took shape and got the message that total victory was the goal.
Even after winning it all last year, Williams continued his aggressive approach trading for Jim Thome, Javier Vasquez and Rob Mackowiak while resigning Paul Konerko, Jon Garland and A.J. Pierzynski. Additionally, Williams closed the book on the Frank Thomas era by allowing the great sluggers option to expire, thus allowing him to eventually sign with Oakland. True to his word, Williams keeps improving the team in response to increased fan support.
If anything, the White Sox are a better team on paper than last year but, of course, games on the field will tell the tale. 2006 should be another banner year for this historic franchise, as fans have purchased White Sox tickets in record numbers. Look for Williams, Ozzie Guillen and the whole team to commit to complete success and another championship for the South Side faithful.
