Levine: New Challenge May Be Right At Home For Kenny Williams
By Bruce Levine--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The time to move on is rarely seen by most of us who toil at a profession and knock out a living and a career. Three years ago, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf restructured his front office. He kicked then-general manager Kenny Williams up the corporate ladder to the position of executive vice president of baseball operations. The owner also promoted assistant GM Rick Hahn to GM.
In the case of Williams, it was difficult for us who know him to imagine long-term happiness with a higher level of authority but less day-to-day activity. Hahn deserved the promotion and was highly sought after by other organizations for their GM positions. This restructuring was a perfect way for Reinsdorf to keep his top two essential managers of the front office both viable and happy.
The communication between the three men has always been one based on friendship, respect and loyalty. That Williams would want a greater challenge was obvious to anyone who understands what makes him tick. Although earning $2.5 million to $3 million a year is a wonderful contract that enables a terrific lifestyle, not being in the mix every day meant Williams wasn't going to be satisfied for long.
Williams won't come out and say he wants to leave the White Sox, mainly because he really doesn't want to go. What he craves is a new challenge. That challenge could come in the framework of his present job or listening to other teams who may be interested in his talents. At this point, there are no teams asking for permission. That doesn't mean there won't be a suitor.
Economics are also changing at the top level of baseball management. Dave Dombrowski and Andrew Friedman have raised the bar as of late by making between $7 million and $10 million a year, as presidents of the Red Sox and Dodgers, respectively. The money for those jobs in big markets has nearly tripled since Theo Epstein signed a deal worth almost $3 million a year in October of 2011 to run the Cubs' baseball operation. The White Sox don't have that kind of revenue stream.
The perception that Hahn should have his own say so on all things baseball may be a fair way to look at it. If Williams departed, that could be the case. For now, that's not how the White Sox are structured. Reinsdorf is an interested owner who loves the game and enjoys the day-to-day involvement. Baseball is his top passion outside of his family.
The failure of the 2015 White Sox may have elevated the idea for change in the media as well in the minds of the three people who run the White Sox. Getting that job done won't be easy for a middle-market team (revenue wise) that happens to play in a big-city market.
The most likely destination for Williams moving forward remains U.S. Cellular Field. That would find the 50-year-old executive rolling up his sleeves every day and helping Hahn and Reinsdorf straighten out the underachieving 2015 team as they all look to the future.
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
