As Mike Gellinger walked back into the dugout following batting practice Friday, Ozzie Guillen shouted out a message:
“Hey, Gelly, teach these (deleted) how to coach!”
It was all in good fun and the White Sox could certainly use some comic relief these days. After firing manager Pedro Grifol, Friday’s game against the Cubs marked not only the debut of interim manager Grady Sizemore, but the return of Gellinger, the Fremd High School graduate who is in his 37th year with the White Sox.
Gellinger, 60, has held a number of jobs in the organization, most memorably as the computer scouting analyst and unofficial assistant hitting coach to Greg Walker during Guillen’s run as manager. Guillen greeted Gellinger with a bear hug before the game, while chairman Jerry Reinsdorf also stopped by to say hello.
“I was with Ozzie his whole time he was here managing, part of his group,” Gellinger said. “Nothing like it. It’s incredible. Ozzie’s always been really, really good to me.”
Aside from the Ozzie years, Gellinger has spent eight years as a minor-league manager, while also spending time as minor-league defensive coordinator and infield coordinator.
“Let’s face it, you can get stuck certain places doing the same thing over and over,” he said. “But it’s been nice that they’ve allowed me to do multiple things through my career, so it’s kept it interesting, kept it fresh and it’s good to be back.”
Gellinger was bench coach for the White Sox entry in the Arizona rookie league this season. Now he’s assistant hitting coach, replacing Mike Tosar, one of three coaches the Sox let go this week. With the White Sox in contention for the worst record in MLB history, what does he hope to accomplish?
New White Sox assistant hitting coach Mike Gellinger, a Palatine product, talks with Ozzie Guillen and team owner Jerry Reinsdorf before Friday night’s game against the Cubs.
Mike McGraw/mmcgraw@dailyherald.com
“Build relationships, basically,” he said. “You don’t come in and start making changes. You’ve got to build relationships and trust.
“You can’t redo the past, so it is what it is. You either move on from here or you stay in the past and continue on with what you’ve got, Hopefully we move on from the past.”
The spotlight focused mostly on Sizemore Friday, but Sox general manager Chris Getz had this to say about Gellinger in 2018:
“He’s probably seen more at-bats, whether it be in person or video, than anyone I can think of,” Getz told the Daily Herald then. “He studies the game endlessly.”
At Fremd, Gellinger played for his father, Terry, a member of the IHSBCA Hall of Fame. Mike spent two years playing in the minor leagues, one for Detroit and one with the White Sox before becoming a minor league coach. He has two sons who live in Arizona.
Sizemore, 42, is new to the White Sox this season, his previous title listed as major-league coach. He’s best known as an aggressive center fielder with Cleveland from 2004-10, who would run through a wall to make a great catch. Unfortunately, that style led to seven surgeries on both knees and his back.
Sizemore wanted to get back into baseball last year and took an internship with the Arizona Diamondbacks because it was all they had available. When Josh Barfield left Arizona to become the White Sox assistant general manager, he recommended Sizemore for a job.
“I was surprised, but excited,” Sizemore said before the game. “I welcome the challenge and the opportunity. I love this team. I love these guys. I’ve enjoyed working with these guys since Day 1. I want to help any way I can.”