It’s wonderful that deep-pocketed Justin Ishbia reportedly is interested in gaining a bigger stake in the White Sox, with the idea of buying the team, but there’s no indication that owner Jerry Reinsdorf plans to release his icy grip on the franchise any time soon.
And imminence is what matters here. It’s the only thing that should matter to the people doing the heavy duty suffering.
That would be Sox fans.
I don’t blame them a bit for getting their hopes up. The Athletic reported that Ishbia, a financier worth $5.1 billion, wants to increase his minority stake in the Sox now that he’s given up his pursuit of buying the Twins. There’s a large segment of the fan base that would want anybody besides Reinsdorf, including a disinterred Stalin, owning the team. But the idea of someone as wealthy as Ishbia stepping in, well, it was enough to make Sox fans swoon on social media the past few days. To be rid of Reinsdorf, who cut the Sox’ payroll after losing a modern-era record 121 games in 2024, and gain a multibillionaire who has a home in Winnetka? Exchange Evergreen Park for Winnetka, and that’s a dream your standard Sox fan has about once a week.
But just because there’s an A (somebody interested in buying the Sox) doesn’t mean there’s a B (a sale in the immediate future – or any future).
“Similar to an opportunity in 2021, White Sox limited partners have received an offer from a third party to purchase their shares in the team, providing liquidity for the limited partners on their long-term investment in the club,” Sox vice president of communications Scott Reifert said. “This offer to limited partners has no impact on the leadership or operations of the Chicago White Sox and does not provide a path to control.”
Is that the Sox posturing for a better offer from Ishbia down the road or is it cold water being hurled at the idea of Reinsdorf letting go? I don’t know, but if I had to guess, given Reinsdorf’s proclivity for wanting to stick it to his many critics, I’d say that the dream is sopping wet.
Too bad, if true. It’s time for somebody else to own the Sox. It’s been time for a long time. Being fabulously wealthy like Ishbia and his brother, Mat, co-owners of the Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury, doesn’t guarantee success as an owner of a Major League Baseball team. But being rid of a fossilized owner surely would inject excitement into a moribund franchise and a disillusioned fan base.
Alas, desperately wanting it to be so doesn’t make it so. Nothing has made Reinsdorf budge. Not all the losing, with more on the way this season. Not all the empty seats at Rate Field, or whatever the ballpark is called now. Not all the fans screaming for a sale.
There could be tax implications for the 88-year-old Reinsdorf and his heirs if the team is sold while he’s alive. There are also spite ramifications to this, which might be the most powerful factor of all. Reinsdorf has owned the team since 1981 and believes he knows best. His intractability on baseball matters has led to sharp criticism, but that seems to have made him dig in his heels even more. I envision more digging in, thanks to fan and media reaction to the 47-year-old Ishbia’s interest in buying the club.
What does Reinsdorf want? It’s hard to comprehend. If this were about winning baseball games, he would have plowed more money into getting the Sox out of their death spiral. But he hasn’t. If this were about rescuing his reputation, he would have done something about it. If this were about making more money, he would have taken steps to improve the on-field product and bring fans back.
So I’m still left with spite as the main motivation.
Chicago — the nation’s capital of odd, awkward team owners. The Bears went 5-12 last season, and the McCaskeys reacted by raising ticket prices by an average of 10% for 2025. It’s the second price increase in the past two years. The Ricketts family refuses to acknowledge that the Cubs are a major-market team, and their middle-of-the-road player payroll reflects it. Reinsdorf also owns the Bulls, who are flirting with missing the playoffs for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.
I’m not sure what it is about Chicago that attracts these kinds of people – people you might want on your philanthropic board but not running the sports franchise you live and die for.
I’d like to advise Sox fans not to get their hopes up about Ishbia’s plan to buy a bigger stake in the franchise, but that party boat has sailed. They’re already drunk on the idea of new ownership and want it now. Sorry, that’s not how this works. That’s not how the chairman operates.
Until we’re otherwise notified, the Good Ship Jerry isn’t going anywhere. Reinsdorf is still at the helm and seems to be offering a naval salute. Or is that another hand gesture?