Kenny Williams

Williams hired Jerry Manuel as his first manager, in which he led them to 2 division titles and over 500 wins, then he hired popular former Chicago shortstop Ozzie Guillén as the team's manager in. Since becoming the White Sox GM, Williams has become known for his aggressive moves to bolster the Sox lineup. This reputation was strengthened following the season, when Williams completely made over the White Sox team by switching its on-field focus from home runs to pitching, defense, and speed. Accordingly, he acquired players which excelled in those areas, through free agent signings (Orlando Hernández, Dustin Hermanson, Jermaine Dye, A. J. Pierzynski, Tadahito Iguchi), trades (Scott Podsednik, José Contreras, Freddy Garcia) and the farm system (Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand). Williams' off-season maneuvers were reflected in an extremely successful campaign for the South Siders, one in which they held the best record in all of baseball for most of the year, and finished with the best record in the AL to clinch their first AL Central Division title since 2000, their first American League pennant since 1959, and their first World Series since 1917. Read Less