Rick Renteria isn’t the Chicago White Sox manager anymore, but he is a finalist for the American League Manager of the Year Award.
The White Sox chose to part ways with Renteria on Oct. 12, hiring Hall-of-Fame skipper Tony La Russa as his replacement last week with the intent of making the South Siders world champions.
But that doesn’t change what Renteria accomplished during the 2020 season, leading a White Sox team that lost 89 games the year before to the postseason, the franchise’s first playoff berth in a dozen years. He was one of the top three finishers in the vote for the AL Manager of the Year Award, alongside Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays and Charlie Montoyo of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Renteria oversaw Chicago during the last four seasons as they underwent a full-scale rebuilding project. He was often lauded for his developmental prowess and his ability to connect with his players, building culture in the White Sox clubhouse.
This season saw the arrival of the latest wave of talent, and the White Sox vaulted out of rebuilding mode and into contention mode with a 35-25 record fueled by a sensational midseason stretch that featured 23 wins in 29 games.
Regardless, Renteria is no longer the manager, the White Sox going with someone who has experience getting a team to a championship, and indeed they found that in La Russa. But Renteria is still being acknowledged for the team turning things around during an ascendant 2020 season.
Major League Baseball will announce the AL Manager of the Year on Nov. 10. Should Renteria win the award, he’ll be the first South Side skipper to do it since Ozzie Guillén in 2005 and the sixth White Sox manager to win it all time. Ironically, the first White Sox manager to win was La Russa in 1983.
