28-91! That isn’t any number that is the current record of the Chicago White Sox. To say that the Southsiders are living a nightmare would be a gross understatement. This is more than just a nightmare, this is a tragedy. Last week their manager was fired but that hasn’t improved their form. With a 1-9 recent record, the team continues to speed towards the worst league record. Perhaps that’s why the fans are finally waking up to the core issue – Jerry Reinsdorf.

Reinsdorf has owned the Chicago White Sox since 1981. During that entire time, the team has won just 1 World Series and hasn’t won a playoff series apart from that 2005 World Series winning campaign. More than that, despite being a big market team, the ChiSox is perennially underfunded. With more attention going to its commercial revenue, the team’s on-field product has remained lackluster for quite a long time. As a result, the fans have taken it upon themselves to send Reindorf a message and they’re doing it using the Oakland Athletics’ way.

The A’s fans had filled the stadium with ‘Sell the team’ signs last season. That was being done in protest of their team’s Las Vegas move. Now that sign is visible during the Chicago White Sox games too. An X user Dos Can Sox has recently started a movement to force the ownership to sell off. Due to this he recently appeared in the White Sox’s clash with the Chicago Cubs with a “Sell the team” sign in his hands. Unsurprisingly, that sign wasn’t met with the warmest of smiles by the security staff.

As the X user noted, the security rushed towards him when he hung the “Sell the team” sign. The guards tried confiscating the sign, but according to Dos Can Sox, they left him with the sign after the game ended. This act of the security guards trying to take the sign also didn’t land well with fans. Is there a rule that disallows signs? They wondered. But while that was a question, it highlighted just how frustrated the White Sox fanbase is.

Why is Jerry Reinsdorf growing increasingly unpopular within the Chicago White Sox?

Here’s an interesting fact, only two teams haven’t crossed the $80 million mark for a single player in baseball. Who are they? The Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics. The richest deal the ChiSox gave is Andrew Benintendi’s $75 million in 2022. As for the  A’s, the best was Eric Chavez’s $66 million (2004). Both these fanbases have seen their owner’s penny-pinching ways and unsurprisingly have had enough. 

But here’s a tiny difference between the two teams, unlike the A’s, the White Sox isn’t a small market team. Yes, Chicago has two baseball teams but that is because it is a market that is big enough to accommodate two teams. But the White Sox have remained in oblivion while the Cubs have grown in popularity. Part of the reason is the fact that the Cubs were once available on free-to-air TV. And that’s where Jerry Reinsdorf comes into the picture.

He has been the owner since 1981. Ironically, it was under him that the White Sox shifted to Sportsvision, a cable TV channel. However, while it was a visionary step it was too early and the ChiSox lost a lot of its viewers. Ever since then, they’ve remained behind the Cubs in brand value. But that shouldn’t stop them from being behind at the on-field level too. And that has been the case for a long time and now fans want a change. But will they get it? What’s your take? Let us know in the comments.