June 13, 20223 yr First from the glory times starting last season (2021) Menechino, 50, enters his second season as the White Sox hitting coach. The Sox in 2020 led the AL in home runs (96), slugging percentage (.453) and run differential (+60) and ranked second in average (.261), runs scored (306) and OPS (.779). The White Sox were one of just four teams (also Atlanta, the Dodgers and Philadelphia) in baseball to feature five players with 10-plus homers. First baseman Jose Abreu was named AL MVP and won an AL Silver Slugger Award, outfielder Luis Robert finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, and shortstop Tim Anderson and outfielder Eloy Jiménez also won AL Silver Slugger Awards. So why is he coaching differently now? Orders from Tony? Hahn?
June 15, 20223 yr On 6/13/2022 at 12:29 PM, Texsox said: First from the glory times starting last season (2021) Menechino, 50, enters his second season as the White Sox hitting coach. The Sox in 2020 led the AL in home runs (96), slugging percentage (.453) and run differential (+60) and ranked second in average (.261), runs scored (306) and OPS (.779). The White Sox were one of just four teams (also Atlanta, the Dodgers and Philadelphia) in baseball to feature five players with 10-plus homers. First baseman Jose Abreu was named AL MVP and won an AL Silver Slugger Award, outfielder Luis Robert finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting, and shortstop Tim Anderson and outfielder Eloy Jiménez also won AL Silver Slugger Awards. So why is he coaching differently now? Orders from Tony? Hahn? Sox have been top 5 in ground ball rate in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The difference is that in 2020, and partly in 2021, a much higher percentage of the non-grounders were hit very hard and resulted in a lot of extra base hits, leading to a BABIP and ISO that aren't really sustainable with such a high ground ball rate. Menechino had a history in Miami of also having a really high ground ball rate, it's just not a winning strategy.
June 16, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, Texsox said: These guys keep getting hired, except Ricky. I don't get it. I don't think Ricky will ever manage in MLB again. It's not just the Sox that soured on him.
June 16, 20223 yr Author 35 minutes ago, chitownsportsfan said: I don't think Ricky will ever manage in MLB again. It's not just the Sox that soured on him. It seems like he'd get a bench coach or similar position. Perhaps he doesn't want one.
June 16, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Texsox said: It seems like he'd get a bench coach or similar position. Perhaps he doesn't want one. He was literally fired twice on the cusp of competitive postseason windows. That has to be extremely infuriating. If he's comfortable with what he's made throughout his career, I wouldn't be shocked if he doesn't want to put himself through that again.
June 16, 20223 yr I think if he stays on board they need to get someone else in as a hitting assistant to work with some of these guys. While dudes like Vaughn, Jose, Mendick, and Burger have shown marked improvement under his tutelage, you have guys like Eloy, Luis, and Yoan who look like complete crap. Eloy and Luis, especially, regressed considerably from their minor league performances (accounting for an expected dip stepping up to MLB). It seems these are the guys who need a different voice/approach that Frank just can't offer them.
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