The White Sox officially named Will Venable as the 44th manager in franchise history. He brings nine years of MLB experience as a former player, championship experience as the former associate manager of the Texas Rangers, and coaching experience from stops with the Cubs and Red Sox.
Venable, who turned 42 earlier in the week, met the Chicago media for the first time as White Sox manager on Thursday. Venable and White Sox GM Chris Getz shared several notes about the hiring process and what fans can expect from the team moving forward.
““Will is widely recognized as one of the premium managerial candidates within the game, and we are very excited to bring him into our organization as our new manager,” Getz said in a statement. “He is so well thought of across baseball. Will has built a well-earned and well-deserved reputation as a successful player, front office executive, coach and associate manager. A great communicator, Will is going to build strong relationships, set expectations, build a clubhouse where we hold one another accountable, and ultimately, create a winning mindset among our players and a winning environment in our clubhouse.”
Venable’s Decision To Come To Chicago
Venable is no stranger to the interview process. The highly sought-after managerial candidate reportedly turned down an opportunity to interview for the New York Mets job in 2023 and withdrew his name from consideration for the Cleveland Guardians vacancy. This offseason he was also named as one of two finalists for the Marlin’s manager vacancy.
Venable was considered by many to be the heir apparent to the Texas Rangers managerial job once Bruce Bochy retired. After turning down previous opportunities it seemed unlikely the 42-year-old would want to come to the White Sox, who are fresh off a 121-loss season. But Venable says despite the team’s recent struggles, he fell in love with Chicago during his time Cubs.
Venable called the decision to interview for the White Sox job a “no-brainer”. He added that Getz also has a good reputation across the league and that his future vision for the White Sox helped sell him on the job. This is not the first time that Getz has poached smart baseball minds from other organizations.
Last offseason he named Diamondbacks assistant director of player development, Josh Barfield and former Royals Vice President, Jin Wong, as his assistant GMs. He also hired Giants director of pitching, Brian Bannister to be the White Sox senior advisor to pitching, and Angels senior advisor Gene Watson to director of player personnel.
Hiring Process
Getz told reporters that the team had over 60 candidates for the managerial opening, which was eventually narrowed down to 20 once the interview process began.
Clevland Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz was one of the four finalists for the job along with interim manager Grady Sizemore, and former Angels Manager Phil Nevin, per CHSN’s Chuck Garfein. According to a report from Craig Mish, Albernaz and Venable were also the two finalists for the Miami Marlins job. The Marlins are the only other team in the MLB with a manager vacancy.
After setting the modern MLB record with 121 losses in a season, Getz stated he wanted to hire someone with a similar vision to help grow the organization. Venable checks many of the boxes that Getz was looking for.
Wealth of Experience
Venable has been surrounded by smart baseball minds for the bulk of his coaching career. Some of the ideas he learned along the way could be implemented in Chicago. He gained championship experience as the Rangers associate manager under Bruce Bochy. He also gained experience working as a special assistant for Theo Epstein. During his time with the Cubs in 2018 and ’19, Venable also served as a first base coach under manager Joe Madden. After leaving Chicago he worked for another World Series-winning manager, Alex Cora, when he was named the Boston Red Sox bench coach during the 2021 and ‘22 seasons.
Venable praised Madden for how he handled the clubhouse calling him a “creative, innovative and unbelievable leader.” He also spoke highly of Alex Cora, despite the fact his style of managing was vastly different than Madden’s but still effective. During his time under Bochy, Venable says he liked how the Hall of Famer worked with his coaching staff, calling him “inclusive and thoughtful.”
He is hoping that some of this experiance can be applied into building a White Sox team filled with “grinders”.
“This is a great opportunity with a White Sox organization that is putting a lot of good things into place and laying a solid foundation for the future,” Venable told reporters in a statement. “It’s exciting to be part of that process to help get back to the type of baseball White Sox fans are used to seeing. We want players who show up to work hard every day, but also smart baseball players who understand the nuances of the game. There is a rich tradition here and a fanbase that deserves winning baseball, and I am excited to do whatever I can to help.”
