A good portion of the Eastern United States had the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse on Monday, a rare phenomenon that will not happen again for two decades. Few had a better view than those in Cleveland, where the sun was completely blocked out by the moon for several minutes.
The Chicago White Sox were in Cleveland preparing for Monday’s game against the Guardians, so they would have had the opportunity to enjoy a great view of the eclipse. Manager Pedro Grifol, however, was not remotely interested.
Grifol offered an oddly standoffish response to a question about whether he planned to watch the eclipse. The White Sox manager said he might watch a video of it afterward, but he was too focused on baseball to care about watching it live.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol, here in Cleveland in the path of totality for the last total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S. until 2044, said he will not be viewing it. In fact, he was pretty adamant about it.
"I'll see videos of it… but there's baseball."
— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) April 8, 2024
And Grifol: "I’m not going to watch it. It doesn’t interest me that much. I’ll watch videos of it to see what it looks like. I probably shouldn’t say that because you know… Family and baseball. People don’t believe it but I believe it. I live it and that’s all that matters" https://t.co/astmfSqpih
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 8, 2024
“I’m not going to watch it. It doesn’t interest me that much,” Grifol said. “I’ll watch videos of it to see what it looks like. I probably shouldn’t say that because you know … Family and baseball. People don’t believe it but I believe it. I live it and that’s all that matters.”
A number of fans found Grifol’s response downright weird. While it would be one thing if Grifol simply was not interested in the phenomenon, many took his comments to suggest that he was acting like the interruption would actually make him less prepared for Monday’s game.
If you think for one second that Pedro Grifol will let a total solar eclipse distract him from turning around the Chicago White Sox well you're in for a rude awakening, bucko. https://t.co/nlPZZjjrkh
— Patrick Nolan (@SoxMach_pnoles) April 8, 2024
Not pictured: Pedro Grifol. Wanna know why? Bc he’s so good at his job that he is taking each game preparation serious no matter what’s going on in the world. That 1-8 record doesn’t define him!!!!!!! He’s different!!!!! https://t.co/F9dQyz4mHQ
— maddie (@madswag4315) April 8, 2024
Not only is he a terrible manager but Grifol has yet to publicly articulate a single normal human impulse or thought https://t.co/tGA5s6poX6
— MJ Borrowman (@RaucousDukakis) April 8, 2024
For what it’s worth, Grifol’s managerial counterpart, Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt, did take part in the viewing, as did many of his players.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt is locked in to the eclipse. #Guardians pic.twitter.com/qwXwaC856v
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) April 8, 2024
Grifol is in his second season as White Sox manager, and with the team off to a 1-8 start, he is definitely not in a good mood. Paired with some very negative claims about the team’s culture last year and you may have a manager on the hot seat quite early in the season. Still, taking five minutes to check out the eclipse is not going to make the White Sox less likely to win. If anything, the way things have been going for them, it might have the opposite effect.
