The Chicago White Sox have a young clubhouse that doesn’t always believe in the same unwritten rules as manager Tony La Russa. That has come into sharp focus this week, as the manager has been critical of rookie Yermin Mercedes for homering on a 3-0 pitch against a position player in a blowout win.
Nobody embodies Chicago’s clubhouse better than shortstop Tim Anderson, a 27-year-old with a penchant for bat flips and flashy play. He offered a pretty great analogy when explaining how he and his fellow players operate with the 76-year-old La Russa.
“Tony is like the dad and we’re like his kids. We’re like the bad kids who don’t listen” Tim Anderson joked.
“We don’t always agree and that’s OK"
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 21, 2021
Tim Anderson: "At the end of the day, we're going to go out and play the way that we want to play. We're going to enjoy it and have fun with it. That's how we're at our best, when we're enjoying the game. We don't really worry about the outside noise."
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) May 21, 2021
Anderson drove home the point by saying that he saw the Minnesota Twins’ decision to throw at Mercedes as a “sign of weakness.” La Russa had previously said the Twins’ response was appropriate.
La Russa has been criticized for failing to defend Mercedes by some within baseball. The White Sox can’t exactly call him out publicly, so this is how they’re making it work.
