3 reasons I'm not renewing my White Sox season tickets

The deadline to register for the White Sox "season ticket holder party" was Wednesday. That meant ticket reps were making another round of calls, checking to see if those of us who have yet to pay would reconsider our plans for 2024.

I'm still saying no to season tickets this year. This is not a decision I made lightly. I'm a longtime ticket holder, and White Sox baseball is important to me. However, there comes a point where this is a bad investment. 

I replied to my ticket rep and offered these three reasons on why we're taking a pass:

1. We've lost confidence in the on-field product. We've been following the offseason moves carefully, but these acquisitions are all fifth infielders, fourth outfielders and back-end starting pitchers. We had hoped the organization would be committed to making sure a season like 2023 never happens again, and we wanted to see some impact players acquired. Unfortunately, that has not happened to this point. We were told that Chris Getz was promoted to GM because he was already familiar with the organization, and that there wasn't a year to waste as far as getting back in contention. So far, we don't feel as though the actions live up to those words.

2. There have been too many things that we enjoyed taken away. We miss SoxFest. We miss Grinder Bash. We miss having access to the 100 level as 500-level season ticket holders. My girlfriend and her dad miss Father-Daughter Day at the ballpark. The first year post-pandemic, we understood why some of these things went away. But that shouldn't be an issue any longer, and it is disappointing that none of it has come back. These are perks we enjoyed, even when the Sox were disappointing us on the field. This "season ticket holder party," to be honest, did not excite me. I used to take a vacation day on the Friday of SoxFest, because the two- or three-day event was worth my time. However, I'm not going to leave work early to fight Friday traffic for 90 minutes to spend a couple of hours at the Field Museum.

3. Lastly, it's very disturbing that I've read media reports about the team possibly moving to Nashville. I haven't forgotten the feeling that I had when I was 11 years old and this very same chairman threatened to move my beloved baseball team to St. Petersburg, Fla. I've never fully forgiven him for that. He can deny it all he wants, but he's lost the benefit of the doubt with me, after what happened in the 1980s. I'm sure it's just business to him, but for us, the White Sox are a civic treasure. Generations of our families have been coming to 35th and Shields to watch baseball. We've been very loyal, and we've sat through a lot of tough seasons. The fact that we're having to talk about this, again, is insulting. The Sox organization has failed to deliver on big promises, and that is not the fault of fans.

Maybe we'll change our minds in 2025, but some positive changes have to be made before we consider committing to a ticket plan again.

White Sox to season ticket holders: 2013 season 'simply unacceptable'

I received my White Sox season ticket renewal notice in the mail on Thursday. Prices for next year are the same as they were this year. They better be, given the woeful 99-loss performance the Sox had in 2013.

The first couple paragraphs of the letter enclosed, written by Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing Brooks Boyer, were interesting. They read as follows:

Dear White Sox Season Ticket Holder,

Thank you for your support of our team despite what was a very trying baseball season. Your passion is what drives our organization and any success we have is only because of your continued loyalty.

We want you to know we share your frustration and disappointment regarding the 2013 season, but everyone with the White Sox is confident we will be competitive again, and soon. We are going to be better. No one in the front office is willing to sit through another season like the past one. That is simply unacceptable to all of us, and I am sure, to you.

Indeed, it was simply unacceptable. I'm still renewing my tickets for 2014, and I do expect much better from the White Sox next season. The team that was put on the field this summer was embarrassing, not much better than Triple-A quality. Major changes are needed this offseason, and hopefully the signing of international free agent Jose Abreu is just the start.

It's worth noting that Boyer is not the GM. He's the marketing guy, so his words are not necessarily a foreshadowing of significant moves on the baseball side. However, you would like to think Boyer has some inside information about the direction the organization will be taking this offseason. Would he have written what he did if the club didn't plan on being active this winter?

As a season ticket holder, I'm going to take it as a positive sign they didn't send me a letter asking for patience. They don't seem like they are getting ready to undertake a lengthy rebuilding. Instead, they are boldly telling their best customers, "We are going to be better."

Good. That means they can't stand pat this offseason. To be better, change is necessary.. I'm anxious to see what general manager Rick Hahn has in store for us.