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Home , 2005 World Series, Ace (baseball), Bill Lucas (baseball), Bob Watson, Carl Everett, Esteban Loaiza

KEN WILLIAMS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Ken Williams begins his 33rd season in in 2014 and his second as the White Sox executive vice president after being promoted to the position on October 26, 2012. In his new role, Williams will increase the scope and range of his involve- ment with the club while also continuing to maintain oversight and final approval on major baseball decisions.

Williams spent the previous 12 seasons (2001-12) as the White Sox general , producing the best winning percentage by any in club history. The White Sox claimed a Championship in 2005 – the franchise’s first in 88 years – two division titles (2005 and 2008), five second-place finishes and four third-place finishes. The club finished .500 or better times, going 1,014-931 (.521) over his 12 seasons. Williams celebrated his 1,000th victory as a general manager on August 26, 2012 (a 4-3 win over Seattle). He was the fourth-longest tenured general manager in baseball at the time of his promotion when he was succeeded as general manager by longtime assistant .

Williams named former Sox as the team’s 39th manager on October 6, 2011, beginning a trend in the industry of hiring managers with no prior coaching or managerial experience. Ventura was a finalist for Manager of the Year in his first season when the Sox went 85-77 to finish in second place in the in 2012. Ventura and the White Sox agreed on a multiyear contract extension in January.

Williams celebrated his fifth season as general manager in 2005 by winning the third World Series title in the franchise’s history and the club’s first since 1917. The 2005 World Champion White Sox, built around pitching, defense and timely power, became just the second team in major-league history to lead its division wire-to-wire and sweep the World Series in four games. The other was the 1927 . The Sox were 11-1 in postseason play, winning their final eight games.

Following the Championship, the 2006 White Sox posted a 90-72 record, winning 90 or more games in back-to-back seasons for just the fifth time in franchise history and first since 1963-65. The White Sox won 200 regular season and postseason games from 2005 to 2006, and the 189 combined regular-season wins from 2005-06 are the highest total in back-to-back campaigns by a Sox team since winning 193 in 1964-65.

The 2008 White Sox became the second team to capture an AL Central division title during Williams’ tenure. The 2008 Sox went 89-74 (.546) to win the AL Central title by defeating the Twins in a tiebreaker on September 30. The 1-0 victory over Minnesota was the third of three straight must-win games against three different teams to end the regular season. The White Sox 17-game improvement from 2007 (72-90) to 2008 was the franchise’s best since 2000, and the Sox finished the decade with eight winning seasons, the most since also posting eight during the 1960s.

Since becoming the franchise’s 11th general manager on October 24, 2000, Williams annually made aggressive moves impact- ing the major-league roster. He acquired 10 players at the July trade deadline during his 12-year career.

Prior to the 2005 championship season, the White Sox signed five free agents – OF , RHP , RHP Orlando Hernandez, Japanese INF and Pierzynski – and each played a key role in helping the team to the World Series title. The Sox also acquired OF and RHP Luis Vizcaino in a December 13 trade with the Brew- ers. In 2004, Williams signed RHP , Japan’s all-time saves leader, who was the first Japanese player for the White Sox. In 2003, the Sox signed free agent RHP Esteban Loaiza, who went on to win 21 games and started the 2003 All-Star Game at U.S. Cellular Field.

During his tenure, Williams acquired 171 players in 72 trades involving the major-league roster, adding notables such as Hall-of-Fame INF (2003-04), Jose Contreras (2004-09), (2003-05), Freddy Garcia (2004-06, ‘10), Ken Griffey Jr. (2008), (2006-09), (2012) and Brett Myers (2012). His teams also included four Cuban players, Contreras, Orlando Hernandez (2005), Alexei Ramirez (2008-present) and Dayan Viciedo (2010-present), and two Japanese players (Iguchi and Takatsu).

Williams was the first African-American general manager in Chicago sports history and the third in major-league history, follow- ing (, 1979) and (, 1994-95/Yankees, 1996-97). From 2001-03, Williams and Jerry Manuel formed the first African-American general manager/manager tandem in major-league history. He was honored at the McDonald’s 365Black Awards in July 2013 as one of the nation’s history makers of today and tomorrow.

Williams has spent 32 seasons in baseball in a variety of capacities, including player, scout and special assistant to the chair- man. Williams joined the club in November 1992 as a scout, specializing in the inner cities, and was named special assistant to in 1994. He also worked at SportsChannel in 1995 as a studio analyst on Sox telecasts.

He served as the club’s director of minor-league operations from 1995-96 and was promoted to vice president of player devel- opment for four additional seasons (1997-2000). Under his direction, the White Sox were named 2000 Organization of the Year by and USA Today.

Active in the organization’s community outreach programs, Williams takes part in the annual “ Duty Classic” at the ball- park, speaking to young amateur baseball players about their role in the history of the sport. Williams actively supports the team’s Amateur City Elite () youth baseball program, which in 2012 had 12 players sign Division I scholarships to play baseball. In 2013, he was named to ’s Diversity Committee, an 18-member task force announced by Commissioner and given the objective of increasing diversity in the game, particularly among black players.

Williams has been active in the team’s “Becoming A Man” program, an initiative aimed at teaching young, at-risk men how to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner. Williams and general manager Gar Forman have met with kids in the Youth Guidance program, taken part in group sessions and filmed a powerful PSA encouraging kids to speak and use the power of their voice. The BAM program has been recognized by President Barack Obama for its positive impact on the fight against urban violence.

A former with the White Sox (1986-88), Detroit (1989-90), Toronto (1990-91) and Montreal (1991), Williams appeared in 451 career major-league games. Williams originally was selected by the Sox in the third round of the June 1982 free agent draft.

Born on April 6, 1964, in Berkeley, Calif., Williams attended Stanford University, where he played football. Along with fiancée Zoraida Sambolin, a nationally-recognized journalist, Williams promotes prostate and breast cancer awareness, education and early screening. His son Tyler (White Sox) plays , while son Kyle is a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs and son Kenny Jr. works in the sports industry after retiring as a professional baseball player.