Pedro Grifol remembers making a stop in the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium once during his 10 seasons coaching with the Kansas City Royals.
“It was late after a game. I said, ‘You know what, let me just go see what it looks like,’” Grifol said Monday.
Grifol was back at the ballpark he called home for the first time as the Chicago White Sox manager as the team began a four-game series against the Royals.
“This is a special place for me,” Grifol said. “We had some great runs and magical moments here. Just to come back to this place, look at the field and see some of the people that I have great relationships with, it’s a special moment.”
Grifol was a special assignment coach for the Royals in 2013, the hitting coach in 2013-14, the catching coach from 2014-17 — working with seven-time All-Star Salvador Perez — and the quality control/catching coach in 2018-19 before becoming the bench coach in 2020.
He was in that role for three seasons before being introduced as the Sox manager in November.
“I got to that organization as a rookie ball coach,” Grifol said. “Two months later, I’m in the big leagues with George Brett (who was the hitting coach). In over 10 years, people just come and go and you start building relationships and it becomes a home.
“That’s what Kansas City is to me. It’s a home full of beautiful relationships that will never go away. Always going to be here. It’s a special place for me.”
Grifol reflected on the “selflessness” of the 2015 Royals, who beat the New York Mets to win the World Series.
“Just that unbelievable will to win a baseball game at all costs, no matter what,” Grifol said. “It was that selfless attitude that that team had that was special, and I don’t think it will ever be duplicated. It was truly 25 guys coming out there every day for one thing and one thing only, and that was to win a baseball game.
“That happened for probably 2½, three years, which is truly special. They didn’t care about themselves, they just cared about us winning. They figured out quickly that our successes were tied together and they knew that if we won, everybody would do well for themselves.”
That team included Perez, one of the players he reconnected with Monday.
“He came and saw me (Monday) early on, gave me one of those big bear hugs, picked me up off the ground,” Grifol said. “I felt like a little rag doll. It was pretty cool seeing him.”
Grifol didn’t foresee any issues balancing the emotions of the day.
“When we’re having meetings I don’t think about it,” he said. “When we’re preparing I don’t think about it. At (first pitch) I’m not going to think about it. But in between those times, obviously I look forward to seeing some of the guys, the Nicky Lopezes of the world, and giving them a big hug and some of the front office that’s here.
“It’s pretty cool but I’m not going to have a problem separating it, I promise.”
Grifol is focused on getting the Sox turned around after a rough April. They started May on a good note, winning two of three in their first two series of the month against the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds.
“I’ve got a good staff, I’ve got a good front office,” Grifol said when asked about how was it running the show. “Got some good players. We ran into a tough stretch, we dug ourselves a hole, but we’re working and we’re not going to stop working.
“How is it? I’ve got a good staff. They make it easy on me.”
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