White Sox scouting director Mike Shirley resigns after verbal harassment allegations

Chicago White Sox amateur scouting director Mike Shirley resigned on Saturday amid an internal investigation into allegations of verbal harassment. Shirley was alleged to have made inappropriate racial comments and sexist comments about coworkers and in front of coworkers, multiple team and league sources told The Athletic.

Shirley was first placed on administrative leave following an anonymous tip to the organization with concerns about his conduct at the Area Code Games in Long Beach, Calif., last month. That annual event takes place in early August and draws roughly 200 high school players who are split into eight teams run by area scouts. It’s heavily attended by scouting directors, agents and various front-office personnel.

Shortly after receiving the complaint, the White Sox human resources department launched an investigation into Shirley’s alleged behavior, including interviewing members of the amateur scouting department, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an internal investigation. A team spokesperson confirmed Shirley had resigned on Saturday evening. It wasn’t immediately clear what the results of the investigation were.

This was not the club’s first probe into Shirley’s behavior. He had been the subject of at least one past internal investigation, multiple sources with direct knowledge told The Athletic.

In 2022, Major League Baseball received an anonymous tip from a White former team employee who had recently left the club regarding Shirley’s behavior toward scouts from underrepresented groups. That tip was passed on to the White Sox. That investigation did not find any bias in Shirley’s hiring practices or behavior toward people of diverse backgrounds, multiple sources with direct knowledge said. As such, Shirley did not receive any disciplinary action.

Prior complaints about Shirley were not limited to the investigation. In an anonymous department survey done before the 2021 season, a portion of which was obtained by The Athletic, multiple employees at the time said they felt scouts from underrepresented groups were not treated equally and not given the same opportunities to advance as their counterparts under Shirley.

The Sox’s latest investigation into Shirley also included allegations of vulgar language about females and their bodies, multiple sources said.

The White Sox declined comment. Shirley did not respond to text messages and multiple phone calls from The Athletic. Senior vice president and general manager Chris Getz, who was promoted to his current role in August 2023, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shirley, 56, a longtime talent evaluator in the organization, was named the director of amateur scouting in September 2019. He had previously served as assistant scouting director and was a cross-checker from 2010-2018. He was also the signing scout when the White Sox drafted Getz in 2005. Multiple league sources believe Shirley had recently signed a contract extension before his resignation.

During his tenure as director, the White Sox drafted Garrett Crochet (2020), Colson Montgomery (2021), and Hagen Smith (2024), as well as their current top prospect, Caleb Bonemer (2024). The White Sox selected Roch Cholowsky with the No. 1 pick this year.