1-on-1 with Pedro Grifol: White Sox manager shares his expectations for 2024 season

Pedro Grifol didn’t win over too many fans in his first season as the South Side skipper.

But that will happen when you don’t win many games in the outcome-oriented business of baseball.

Grifol has moved on from the 101-loss campaign of a year ago, even if a lot of White Sox fans haven’t. He’s got a different vibe in his second spring, and the camp he’s running does, too, thanks in part to Chris Getz and a new-look front office focusing on acquiring players who fit the clubhouse they’re trying to build at the outset of an organizational overhaul.

While us on the outside can look at things and see a rebuilding year on the horizon, Grifol isn’t backing away from his mission of winning games. And this time, he’s hoping to do it on his terms. Rather than stepping into an established clubhouse with preexisting expectations, he’s attempting to set the tone for how White Sox teams, the idea is, play for years to come.

I sat down with Grifol last weekend, in the early days of Cactus League play, for a conversation about what’s different this year, with both him and his team, and what fans should expect to see the rest of the spring and once the games start counting this summer. Below is a complete transcript of that interview.

One thing I, we and even folks back home have noticed about you this spring is that you seem very comfortable, seem a lot more comfortable compared to a year ago. How would you assess your comfort level in this job and also with this organization?

I don’t think I’ve shared this with anybody, but I’m going to share this with you. You go into a new job, and you’ve got all these different personalities and all these things going on. And I think that maybe I played into trying to just — I don’t know how to describe it — maybe it was just — simply put, I wasn’t myself. This is who I am: I’ve got a smile on my face, I’m intense, I’m not demanding but I have the vision on how I’d like to see this team play. I made a comment last year that kind of proves what I’m trying to tell you right now. ‘Well, there’s 26 guys in there, and I’ve got to adjust to their personalities.’ I didn’t grow up in the game like that. I kind of played myself into that, and I don’t think that’s the game. I’m the manager of this club, I’m a leader of this club. That doesn’t mean we don’t have other leaders. I want players to step up and lead, of course. But I think the team takes on the personality of the manager. That’s how I was raised in the game.

I’ve studied managers for a long, long time, guys that I admire, that I just love to watch, like (Jim) Leyland and (Tony) La Russa and (Lou) Piniella and (Jack) McKeon and all these guys that just led. You watched their teams kind of take on that personality of, ‘We’re going to have some fun, but this shit is serious and this is what we do. We’re going to get this shit right.’

So this is who I am. If it looks like I’m more comfortable, then OK, it looks like I’m more comfortable. But this is me. This is not me trying to, ‘I want to make sure this is OK or make sure that this is OK with everybody.’ I’m not doing that. This is our philosophy — and it’s not just my philosophy. This is not just about one person, I’m bringing everybody in. I’m bringing all the staff members and everybody. But I’m putting it in play. I’m just being myself. This is it. I don’t know if I explained that correctly, but this is who I am. If it means that it looks more comfortable, so be it. I’m a confident guy, I’m confident in my abilities to do this job. I’ve got to prove that, man. I haven’t really earned anything here. I’ve got to prove this. But the good thing is that this is all of us together doing it. I want everybody to be themselves and be comfortable. But there’s a way we’ve got to play the game that I believe in, and that’s what we’re going to do.

FAST. Where did that come from? Was it just a focus of developing that this offseason, or is that something that’s kind of been in the works for you, personally, just in your mind, for years now?

It’s always been in my mind. I’ve never articulated it this way. I can get really corny with this stuff, because I go back to when I was in college, sitting there with Eduardo Perez and we’re waiting for a game the night before and we’d play, back in the day it was Nintendo or some shit like that, right? My team was always the Cardinals. I loved the Cardinals. It was just a fast style of play. I loved it. Catching all these years, I know what that brings to the table as far as the pressure, constant pressure. It creates tension. It creates mistakes. Good teams put that pressure on consistently. Now, I get it, if 1 through 9 are guys that cannot play fast, I understand it. That’s why there’s more to it than just speed. Pressure’s not just speed. Pressure is playing fearless, playing really, really, really aggressive, whether it’s at the plate, whether it’s on the mound, attacking the strike zone. We’re attacking, getting guys out on less than three pitches. We’re attacking at the plate, but we’re relentless with the strike zone. Like yesterday. Part of FAST is technically sound, it’s detailed, it’s putting together great at-bats. Hundred and fifty five pitches, seven chases? That’s pressure. This is not just about how fast we are and how many bases we steal. That’s not what this is about. There’s a lot of things that play into this. However, we describe all these things with one word: We’ve just got to play FAST.

And they know it already, they know what it means. They know it’s aggressive, they know it’s detailed, it’s fearless. Just go out there and have fun and play the game and make mistakes. We’ll fix them. And over time, we’ll see that list (of things that need improvement) dwindle down, and then we’re playing flawless baseball, we’re playing really good baseball with eliminating the mistakes. We all know that the team that makes the most mistakes is probably going to lose. But at the same time, you can’t go in there saying, ‘I don’t want to make any mistakes.’ We want to play fearless and eliminate mistakes. You’ve got to get to a level where you’re really, really confident and enjoying this thing to be able to do that on both ends.

You reminded us at the beginning of camp that you were Chris Getz’s hitting coach back in Kansas City. We talked to Mike Moustakas, they played on the same infield. I talked to JJ Picollo at the media day thing. It seemed like everybody in Kansas City knew this was a possibility for Chris, even when he was wearing a uniform there. Is that the vibe that you got back when you knew him as a player?

You never know where your career is going to take you. Who knows? The game just grabs you and takes you where it wants to take you. However, he was going to stay in the game if he wanted to — whether it was as a coach, manager, general manager, farm director, whatever — because he has that type of ability. He sees the game really well.

My interaction with him this spring has been really good and impressive. It’s almost like he’s watching the game from above but he understands the speed of the game in the dugout and on the field, which is critical to evaluating and is critical to assembling a club. And it’s also critical to the patience that you need to have throughout 162 games. He doesn’t overreact. When we talk about certain things, it’s almost like he understands exactly what’s going on. He has the patience necessary to get through 162.

Whether it’s in his front office or in that clubhouse with a lot of the players he brought in this offseason, a lot of Kansas City ties, yourself included, even though the previous regime was in charge when you were hired. Folks have reacted in a way like, ‘Oh, that’s a lot of Royals, that’s a lot of Kansas City influence in here.’ That team obviously accomplished something great in ‘14 and ‘15. At the end of the day, what about that organization and the way it’s run is worth emulating?

I don’t think you ever go out and say, ‘I’m targeting Kansas City for new hires.’ You target a group of people that you interview, and you pick the best person that best fits your system. When somebody’s been hired here that’s coming from Kansas City, they’re not the only person that interviews. There’s been three, four guys interview for every single job that we’ve hired here. So you’re not just targeting an organization. That wouldn’t be the right thing to do. However, familiarity is really important, too, knowing what a person brings to the table exactly and having some familiarity with how they do it. And then implementing into that vision into your style and what you want, if it fits, it fits, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Josh Barfield came from Arizona. His personality, his vision, his philosophies, all that stuff fits. Paul Janish came from Rice. His personality, his vision, his philosophies, his experience fits. You try to hire the best guy. But it’s not just the smartest guy, it’s the guy you feel can impact your organization in a way you want to see it run. I don’t see a problem with it, just because I know we’re not just interviewing one person and that we’re bringing him in just because, ‘Oh yeah, Kansas City, let’s go get him.’

But to get to the other part of your question, what did you like about Kansas City? I got the pleasure of working for Dayton Moore for 10 years, 10 seasons. Class organization, complete class. Prepared, vision, creative. I know how they did it there. You can say, ‘You only won a couple years, but you didn’t do it (more).’ That’s part of a small market. You go for it, and you try to sustain it and sustain it as much as you can and things dismantle. Then you’ve got to build it again. That’s not your question. But that’s what the Royals were about. We didn’t win the last few years, but it wasn’t that we weren’t heading in the right direction. Dayton was doing a really good job. It’s just that people don’t see what’s happening down below, they only see wins and losses. But it was slowly trickling to where it was supposed to be.

The offense last year obviously had its issues. You just talked about how things might be getting better with the lack of chasing in the spring game the other day. But you bring in a lot of guys who are helping you out from a defensive-improvement standpoint, but you look at their numbers, there’s not a lot of obvious offensive success in recent years. Not to mention that some of the guys that are still here, the other half of that lineup, had a lack of success a year ago. Where do you see and how do you see this offense improving the way it needs to improve without a lot of those guys coming off of very successful seasons?

That’s a good question, but here’s what I’m going to tell you. Paul DeJong has done it before. He didn’t lose it, it’s still there. It’s our job and our responsibility to unlock some of that stuff that he used to do. And he’s done a really good job of putting himself in that position and (has been) open-minded and completely trustworthy of the process. Obviously, he comes in with really good defensive ability, but offensively, he’s done some really good things, too. So we’ll see where that goes. I have a lot of confidence in Paul DeJong on both sides of the ball.

Nicky Lopez, we know his defensive abilities. He hit .300 in the American League a few years ago with a .365 on-base (percentage). The other day against the Cubs, he put together two really good at-bats, one like a seven-, eight-, nine-pitch at-bat. That’s who he is. It’s our responsibility and his responsibility to make sure he stays within his game. They’re complementary pieces to this lineup.

(Martín) Maldonado, I don’t feel like he’s a .180 hitter, I don’t. He’s got bat-to-ball skills, he makes contact. I feel like his approach was a little off. He was trying to hit home runs, and I talked to him about it already. I said, ‘Why did this happen?’ He said, ‘I was just trying to hit home runs. I don’t run, so when I get on base,’ and I’m like, ‘There’s a lot of other ways to think about (when it comes to) you getting on base. The more you get on base, the more we turn that lineup around. That’s important.’ So he understands his role, and it’s not just to hit home runs. I don’t really care if he hits home runs. On occasion, a home run? Great. ‘But I do want you to think about getting on base. I do want you to walk.’ Because the more he gets on base, the more we turn that lineup around.

I want to make sure, every single day, that we get the top four, five guys in the order hitting five times. That’s a goal of ours. That’s what we look for. How do we do that? We’ve got to find a way to get on base. So who’s Paul DeJong? This is what you’ve got to do. Who’s Nicky Lopez? This is what you’ve got to do. Who’s Martín Maldonado? Here’s what you’ve got to do. You’re complementing this lineup. (Andrew) Benintendi, here’s your job. (Yoán) Moncada, (Luis) Robert, Eloy (Jiménez), (Andrew) Vaughn, there’s your job. Everybody has a responsibility in that lineup, and we’ve got to, every day, go out there and try to execute that responsibility. It’s not a one-man show. It’s nine guys trying to put together something that allows us to hit five times in a baseball game.

I’ve asked you a version of this question a few different times, but I really want to hammer it home for folks who are either going to be watching or reading the box score of spring games for the next month. You’ve said numerous times, it’s not about who has the best stats in the spring when it comes to making the roster. So what is it that you guys are looking for to make those determinations so fans can maybe look for similar things when they’re watching?

What do they bring to the table to help us win baseball games? What are they willing to sacrifice for this team? That’s what’s going to get you on the team. What are you willing to sacrifice for this baseball team? What do you bring to the table every single day to help us win baseball games? And you better be a good teammate. That’s it. That’s exactly what it is.

And we’ve all heard Chris’ message: Trust the process, be a professional and execute. This is the big leagues. This is not the minor leagues. In the minor leagues, it’s: Trust the process, be a professional, and we’re working on your execution. This is the big leagues: Trust the process, trust yourself, trust your teammates, be a professional, and you’ve got to execute. Plain and simple. Hard to do, plain and simple.

Last year, we heard a lot from you, Michael (Kopech) and any number of other people talking about how he was having pitching issues on the mound but he was also dealing with some hurdles in the mental and emotional aspects of the game, getting over those in games. Have you seen progress from him on that front this spring?

Completely different guy. He’s throwing a live BP today, he’ll be in a game soon. But you want to talk about having a great offseason? This guy killed the offseason. He absolutely crushed the offseason. Man on a mission, that’s what it looks like. (But it’s about) execution. It’s the big leagues. But he is a man on a mission. I’m really proud of him, we all are, this whole organization is. He dedicated himself this offseason to his craft and to being the best he can be. So I’m really proud of him. Now he’s got to go execute.

We heard from Maldonado, after catching one bullpen of Michael’s, some pretty insightful stuff about what he was telling Michael to do and advice he was giving. What has Maldonado been like with these pitchers?

Sometimes it’s really great to bring somebody who has his baseball IQ to a new environment and then have him give his initial evaluation, because it’s like, ‘Whoa, this guy’s got pretty good stuff, like really good stuff.’ This guy’s caught the best pitchers in the game, and he has that knack and that ability to bring out the best in these guys. That’s what he’s here to do. And he’s been really impressed with Michael. Now, I’m asking him to tap into that ability and help him be consistent. That’s what he’s here to do, him and Stassi. That’s their job. Make sure that the guy standing on the mound in the seventh inning, you were a big part of it.

Yoán Moncada. We know what his talent level is. We know why it hasn’t translated to a lot of success, mostly injury-related. What is his personality like? I feel like a lot of fans maybe don’t get to see that part of him.

I get that all the time from people in the game, I get that question. He’s a phenomenal guy. Easy to talk to, knows right and wrong, takes instruction really well, takes difficult conversations really well. And that goes back to knowing right and wrong. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t make mistakes or has lapses. But when you talk to him about it, he understands it and he reflects really well and he owns his mistakes, he owns it. We’ve just got to get him consistent baseball, keep that approach of, ‘Attack and attack and attack. Don’t let down. And concentrate. And practice with focus and play with focus.’ That’s the key for him.

The one thing I like about him — one of the things I like about him, because I like a lot of things about him, and I think he’s a wonderful person, I really do — is that he’s a team guy. And that might be hard for people to see, but he truly wants to win. He wants to win, he wants to be a big part of this thing. We’ve talked about the style of baseball that he needs to play and the offensive style of baseball that he needs to bring. Yesterday was a good day for him. He hit that double. OK, that’s a double, that’s a statistical thing. But the next at-bat, he took some good pitches, he ran that pitch count up a little bit. We’ve seen that before. Eighty four walks in a season, we’ve seen it before.

I’m going to be pressing on him pretty hard, because I know the ability he’s got and the impact he can make on this team and this whole organization. We’re going to be pressing him pretty hard.

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