The many layers of a baseball organization make every team a convoluted onion. And by proxy, they make the league endlessly fascinating.

That’s what diehard fans truly love about the sport. And that’s why baseball fandom comes in many different shapes and sizes.

There are casual fans who love a good day at the ballpark but don’t regularly tune into TV broadcasts. There are devoted regulars who watch the majority of games and probably have a decent grasp on the top prospects in the system. Then there are the diehards—fans who know their favorite team inside and out, who track the draft, prospect rankings, and every rumor under the sun.

There may even be a layer beyond that: the baseball nuts. The people who live in the nitty-gritty details of what makes an organization function—what separates the best from the rest—and the all-in effort required not just to make the playoffs, but to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy after the World Series.

If you’re reading this, it’s probably safe to say you fall into one of those latter two categories.

I’ll admit it—when it comes to the Chicago White Sox, I’m firmly in the “baseball nut” camp. That’s how I’m able to do this every day. I don’t get bored by the minutiae.

And if you’re like me—watching most of the 162-game grind, checking in on every minor-league affiliate, and obsessing over the daily work done by the front office—you probably feel more encouraged right now than you have in a long time.

How is that possible?

Because baseball is complicated. Progress at the organizational level doesn’t always show up immediately in the win–loss column.

It’s like an old, run-down car. You can replace the engine, tune it up, and make sure it’s running better than ever—but until it’s actually on the road, you don’t truly understand what’s under the hood.

In my opinion, that’s where the White Sox are right now.

The car isn’t finished. It’s certainly not driving yet. And even when it is, it’ll still need maintenance. But ever since Chris Getz took over as the club’s general manager, the organization has started chipping away at the right things.

It doesn’t take acute baseball knowledge to recognize that the White Sox have missed the mark in recent years. Three straight 100-loss seasons say it loud and clear.

The organization’s issues run far deeper than the MLB win–loss record. That record is simply the reflection of bad process—process that spoiled for years.

The White Sox have lagged behind the rest of Major League Baseball in nearly every area that defines successful organizations. As the sport modernized—embracing analytics, player development infrastructure, and global talent acquisition—the White Sox resisted change. That stagnation wasn’t accidental.

Under Jerry Reinsdorf, the organization repeatedly prioritized familiarity and loyalty over innovation, filling front-office and operational roles with longtime insiders, former players, and trusted associates instead of aggressively hiring experienced executives from analytically advanced organizations. While teams like the Dodgers and Astros built competitive advantages through data-driven decision-making, the White Sox remained reactive—often adopting trends years after they had already become standard elsewhere.

That resistance showed up most clearly in player development. While other teams invested heavily in biomechanics, pitch design, and individualized development plans, the White Sox leaned on more traditional methods.

One of the clearest examples was how late the White Sox were to treating TrackMan as a true development weapon. League-wide, TrackMan became the backbone of MLB’s pitch-tracking ecosystem starting in 2017. But forward-thinking orgs were already using TrackMan data as an edge in the minor leagues. Meanwhile, reporting has shown the White Sox struggled for years just to build internal consistency around their TrackMan-based data and how to apply it.

Even during their brief competitive window from 2020 to 2022, the organization failed to supplement its core intelligently—misallocating resources to declining veterans instead of building sustainable depth. They spent heavily on volatile position groups like the bullpen, avoided long-term commitments like the plague, and never truly converted on top-of-the-market free agents.

Internationally, the White Sox were behind the curve as well. For years, they were largely absent from key Far East markets like Japan and Korea, while competitors aggressively pursued posting-system stars and built pipelines throughout Asia.

These are the elements that make a well-oiled machine. And these are exactly the behind-the-scenes changes Chris Getz is now making in an effort to turn the tide.

Since Getz took over as GM, the White Sox have signed three free agents from Japan or Korea. The reclamation of right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde was both a scouting and player development win. He signed a two-year deal before the 2024 season, thrived in the first half, and was flipped at the deadline for a package headlined by infielder Miguel Vargas.

This offseason brought Japanese first baseman Munetaka Murakami, a player who could have a significant impact on the White Sox offense as the young core develops on the South Side. Left-hander Anthony Kay was also signed with hopes that he could follow a similar path to Fedde.

An external hire for international scouting director—David Keller from the Mets—gets a seal of approval from me as well. As does the brand-new baseball development complex the White Sox are constructing in the Dominican Republic.

Beyond international efforts, the White Sox have leaned into an analytics-first approach, driven by director of hitting Ryan Fuller and senior pitching advisor Brian Bannister—both outside hires made by Getz to bring innovative philosophies into the organization.

As noted in an interview with Getz by the White Sox ReKAP Podcast, this organizational shift is perhaps best illustrated by the operations staff itself. In 2021, the White Sox listed 20 operations employees on their official website.

Today, that number is 45. More than double in just five years—I don't think that to be a coincidence (via Ryan McGuffey).

It's actually the real story behind the subtle turnaround happening on the South Side.

I care far less about the free-agent signings that signal “progress” to casual fans. I care far more about internal process—and how, over time, if done correctly, it can lead to the sustained success former GM Rick Hahn once preached, but never practiced.

Nothing here is guaranteed. Getz may very well prove to be in over his head with time. Or, as time goes on and the White Sox begin operating the way competent organizations do, they may start hitting more draft picks, developing their own players, using analytics for an edge, and turning over every stone in the international market to reduce volatility.

Think about how much progress has been made from the start of the 2024 season to today. That’s roughly two years—and the differences are striking. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reaping the rewards of these changes.

So if you ask me—someone firmly in the baseball nut category who eats and breathes White Sox baseball—what excites me most moving forward, it’s the infrastructure being put in place.

When the White Sox are good again—and they will be, eventually—I'd bet money on this  being why. Not because of one signing or one trade, but because they finally fixed the foundation first.

It’s low-key. It’s subtle. The surface level fans won't notice it or will shrug it off when it's pointed out for them. 

But long-term, it makes all the difference in how healthy this organization becomes.