Will Venable named White Sox manager
CHICAGO – Will Venable, who has 18 seasons of major-league experience as a player, executive and coach, has been named manager of the Chicago White Sox. Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, has agreed to terms on a multiyear contract.
Venable, the 44th different manager in franchise history, joins the White Sox after spending the last two seasons with the Texas Rangers as associate manager under four-time World Series champion Bruce Bochy. In Venable’s first season, the Rangers won the 2023 World Series after entering the postseason as a wildcard team, sweeping Tampa Bay and Baltimore before defeating Houston in seven games of the ALCS and Arizona in five games in the Fall Classic.
In addition to assisting Bochy, Venable’s responsibilities with the Rangers included daily scheduling and outfield instruction. He also handled the club’s scheduling throughout their October 2023 postseason run that led to the first championship in franchise history.
“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,” said Chris Getz, White Sox senior vice president/general manager. “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.”
“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 said. “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 fan base that deserves winning baseball, and I am excited to do whatever I can to help.”
Venable, a former outfielder, played nine seasons in the major leagues with San Diego (2008-15), Texas (2015) and the Dodgers (2016), batting .249/.315/.404 (707-2,836) with 118 doubles, 39 triples, 81 home runs, 307 RBI, 378 runs scored and 135 stolen bases in 967 games. He ranked among the National League leaders in triples four times and stolen bases twice, and he was named team Most Valuable Player in 2013 after hitting .268/.312/.484 (129-481) with 22 doubles, eight triples, 22 homers, 53 RBI, 64 runs scored and 22 steals in 151 games.
Following his playing career, Venable was hired by the Chicago Cubs in September 2017 as a special assistant to baseball operations before spending three seasons on the Cubs major-league staff as first base coach (2018-19) and bench coach (2020). The Cubs made the postseason in both 2018 and 2020.
Venable also spent two seasons (2021-22) on the Boston Red Sox staff as bench coach under manager Alex Cora, where he also oversaw outfield instruction and coordinated the club’s spring training camp. The Red Sox went 92-70 in 2021 and reached the ALCS.
Venable was a two-sport athlete at Princeton University, where he became the second student-athlete in Ivy League history to earn First Team All-Conference honors in both baseball and basketball, joining current Rangers General Manager Chris Young. He averaged 9.3 points over four seasons (2002-05) on the basketball team and helped the Tigers earn a berth in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, where they were eliminated by Texas in the first round.
Venable’s father, Max, played 12 seasons in the major leagues as an outfielder with San Francisco (1979-83), Montreal (1984), Cincinnati (1985-87) and California (1989-91) before serving as a minor league manager (1994-95) and coach (2004-10, ’14-16). Max served as Will’s hitting coach at Class A Fort Wayne in 2006, Class AA Portland in 2008-09 and Class AA San Antonio in 2010. His brother, Winston, was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection (2009-10) as a linebacker in football at Boise State and played one season (2011) in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears.
Venable, a native of Greenbrae, Calif., graduated from Princeton in 2005 with a degree in anthropology.