Former Relief Pitcher Blast White Sox Culture ‘Came In With No Rules’
Keynan Middleton did not hold back when asked about the White Sox clubhouse culture in a recent ESPN article. Middleton said there were no rules, people fell asleep in the bullpen and nobody was held accountable.
Now that the trade deadline is over there have been plenty of interesting comments from players who have left the struggling Chicago White Sox and joined their new MLB homes.
Jake Burger called his first game with the Marlins “ the most fun I’ve had on a baseball field in a really long time.” Just before Lance Lynn was dealt he commented on the lack of communication from the White Sox front office. There were also rumblings he was unhappy about the locker room culture.
Middleton is the most recent to share his displeasure with his White Sox experience and shed some light on the culture that Lynn was displeased with. Middleton joined the White Sox on a minor league deal this offseason and blossomed into one of Pedro Grifol’s more reliable bullpen arms.
“We came in with no rules,” Middleton told Jesse Rodgers. “I don’t know how you police the culture if there are no rules or guidelines to follow because everyone is doing their own thing. Like, how do you say anything about it because there are no rules?
“You have rookies sleeping in the bullpen during the game. You have guys missing meetings. You have guys missing PFPs [pitcher fielding practices], and there are no consequences for any of this stuff.”
Rodgers also wrote that multiple sources confirmed Middleton’s story about a pitcher napping during games and missing practice.
Middleton appeared happy to find out he had been traded to the Yankees on for right-hander Juan Carela because he immediately shaved his face. Not because he wanted to lose his beard but because he knew what the Yankees locker room culture was about.
“The second I found out I was traded, I shaved my face,” Middleton said. “I was ready to play by their rules because all I want to do is win games. … You know how to act [here]. You know not to be late and you know there are consequences if you are late.”
Middleton also told Rodgers that he believes these issues began long before Pedro Grifol took the helm.
“When I got to spring training, I heard a lot of the same stuff was happening last year,” Middleton said. “It’s happening again this year, so not sure how I could change it. They don’t tell you not to miss PFPs. They don’t tell you not to miss meetings and if it happens, it’s just, ‘OK.'”
Middleton also harped on the lack of leadership from position players. After Jose Abreu departed many wondered who would step up to become the next leader in the locker room. The problem is the White Sox have a relatively young roster. Some of the veteran position players include Yasmani Grandal and Elvis Andrus who will both be gone next year, Andrew Benintendi who just joined the team via free agency, and Tim Anderson, who had his own off-the-field issues to worry about.
“Leadership in general. They say shit rolls downhill. I feel like some guys don’t want to speak up when they should have,” Middleton explained. “ It’s hard to police people when there are no rules. If guys are doing things that you think are wrong, who is it wrong to? You or them? It’s anyone’s judgment at that point.”
Things got so bad that Middleton told ESPN that during a 10-game losing streak in April, the White Sox held a team meeting and only the pitchers spoke up.
“I wouldn’t say anything bad about the pitching staff,” Middleton said. “We went about our work the right way. I think the rest of the team struggled to do the right thing.”
Pedro Grifol landed the White Sox job because of his reputation for being a good communicator. After losing the locker room within his first year of managing it is clear he is in over his head.
Middleton believes the World Baseball Classic was one of the factors in Grifol’s inability to set the tone in Spring Training.
“If you’re trying to create culture, you need your big dogs,” Middleton said. “The guys who played in the WBC were our big dogs, and those are the guys I feel like can police the things that are happening.
“There was no gelling of the team. We’re supposed to find our identity in spring training so we can roll out for the season. If you don’t find your identity, you’re scuffling from Day 1.”