As Mike Gellinger walked back to the dugout after batting practice on Friday, Ozzie Guillen shouted a message:
“Hey, Gelly, teach this (deleted) how to train!”
It was all in good fun, and the White Sox could certainly use some comedy these days. After manager Pedro Grifol was fired, Friday’s game against the Cubs marked not only the debut of interim manager Grady Sizemore, but also 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 notably as a computer scouting analyst and unofficial assistant coach for Greg Walker during Guillen’s tenure as manager. Guillen greeted Gellinger with a big hug before the game, and chairman Jerry Reinsdorf also stopped by to say hello.
“I was with Ozzie the whole time he was managing here, part of his group,” Gellinger said. “Nothing compares to this. It’s unbelievable. Ozzie has always been really, really good to me.”
In addition to his years with the Australians, Gellinger spent eight years as a minor league manager and also served as a minor league defensive coordinator and infield coordinator at times.
“Let’s face it, you can do the same thing over and over again in certain places,” he said. “But it’s been nice that they’ve allowed me to do multiple things over the course of my career. It’s kept it interesting and fresh and it’s nice to be back.”
Gellinger was bench coach for the White Sox in the Arizona Rookie League this season. Now he’s the assistant hitting coach, replacing Mike Tosar, one of three coaches the Sox fired this week. What does he hope to accomplish as the White Sox battle the worst record in MLB history?
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.
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“Basically, it’s about building relationships,” he said. “You don’t just come in and start making changes. You have to build relationships and trust.”
“You can’t undo the past, it is what it is. You either move on from here or you stay in the past and move on with what you have. Hopefully we can put the past behind us.”
Sizemore was in the spotlight on Friday, but Sox general manager Chris Getz had this to say about Gellinger in 2018:
“He’s probably seen more at-bats, either in person or on video, than anyone I can think of,” Getz told the Daily Herald at the time. “He studies the game endlessly.”
At Fremd, Gellinger played for his father, Terry, a member of the IHSBCA Hall of Fame. Mike played two years in the minor leagues, one for Detroit and one for 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 was as a major league manager. He is best known as an aggressive center fielder with Cleveland from 2004 to 2010 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 they didn’t have anything else available. When Josh Barfield left Arizona to become assistant general manager of the White Sox, he recommended Sizemore for the job.
“I was surprised but excited,” Sizemore said before the game. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and the opportunity. I love this team. I love these guys. I’ve enjoyed working with them since day one. I want to help where I can.”
