Carlos Mendoza In The Mix For White Sox Manager Job
The White Sox managerial search has been a mystery to this point. Joe Espada was rumored to be the front-runner, but those rumors have since died down. Ozzie Guillen received an interview despite being out of the dugout for the last ten years. Ron Washington is also in the mix but unlikely to get the job. With so many names floating around, it’s anyone’s guess who will be named the 42nd manager in White Sox history.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, another candidate has emerged. Heyman tweeted that the White Sox received permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza for the manager opening.
White Sox got permission to interview Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza for manager opening. White Sox search has been mostly a mystery. Ozzie Guillen, Ron Washington and Joe Espada have been mentioned but none of those 3 are seen now as especially likely.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 31, 2022
This is the first time that Mendoza’s name has been brought up in the White Sox search. The Venezuelan native has been with the Yankees organization as a coach since 2009.
If there is one word to describe Mendoza, it would be “grinder.”
Before joining the coaching ranks, Mendoza played for a dozen different ballclubs. He was a versatile player who spent time at every position except catcher and center field during his quest to reach the major leagues. He had stops across every level of the minor leagues, including stints in independent baseball and the Venezuela Winter League.
After getting passed over by all 30 MLB teams in the draft, he was picked up by the Giants in 1996 as an undrafted signee. He later went to the Yankees organization. Despite a .232 batting average, he managed to stick around until he was 29 years old. The Yankees and Giants were the only two organizations he played affiliated ball for.
By 29, your days of being a prospect are over, and your major league window is closing. So why did the Yankees keep him around despite sub-par stats and little future upside? Because he was a great locker room guy, and people wanted to be around him.
He was immediately offered a coaching job in 2009, once he hung up his cleats and got his first manager gig in 2011 for the Gulf Coast Yankees. Upon taking the reins, he guided them to their fourth league championship. He then served as the Charleston River Dogs skipper in 2012 and got experience in the Arizona Fall League as the Scottsdale Scorpions manager in 2012 and 2016.
In 2018 he finally achieved his dream of reaching the major leagues, just not as a player as he had envisioned. He was named the Yankee’s quality control and infield coach. It was a role that the Yankees invented, specifically for him, which was a pretty good consultation prize for a man that had worked his entire life to get to the MLB. He was promoted to bench coach one year later and has served as Aaron Boone’s right-hand man ever since.
The 42-year-old possesses a lot of positive attributes. On top of his work ethic and knowledge of the game, he speaks fluent Spanish. Mendoza has 14 years of coaching experience with the Yankees organization. The Yankees have reached the postseason during all three of his seasons as bench coach, so he understands what a winning culture looks like.
Mendoza received interviews before the 2021 season with the Red Sox and Tigers. He was considered a finalist for both positions. He ultimately was got beat out by A.J Jinch and Alex Cora, but it’s clear his time as a manager is coming.
Why not with the White Sox?