Oct 31: The White Sox officially announced Venable’s hiring this morning, noting that he has agreed to a multiyear contract with the club. As noted by Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, Getz praised his new skipper in a statement alongside the announcement:
“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. 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 also made a statement as part of the team’s press release:
“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. 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.”
Oct 29: The White Sox have reached an agreement to hire Will Venable as manager, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Venable has spent the last two seasons on Bruce Bochy’s staff as the associate manager of the Rangers. Major League Baseball discourages teams from revealing news on days with a playoff game, so the Sox are unlikely to make the hiring official until Thursday.
In any case, it’s a nice birthday present. Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, gets his first big league managerial opportunity. That has seemed like an inevitability. Venable has been regarded as a future manager for years. He’s a Princeton graduate who played in parts of nine major league seasons. The majority of his playing experience came in San Diego, where he was a well-rounded outfielder.
Venable finished his playing days in 2017. It didn’t take long for him to move into the next phase of his career. He joined the Cubs’ front office late in the ’17 campaign. Venable moved into coaching the following year, joining Joe Maddon’s staff as first base coach. Teams were considering him for managerial vacancies within a couple seasons. Venable interviewed for the Cubs job after Maddon departed the organization, while he also sat down with the Giants and Astros.
Chicago ultimately tabbed David Ross. Venable stayed on Ross’ staff for the 2020 season and again found himself in managerial searches. He interviewed with the Tigers and Red Sox, and while neither team hired as manager, Boston added him as bench coach not long after rehiring Alex Cora.
Venable spent two seasons in Boston. While the Red Sox hoped to bring him back for 2023, he departed to take on the associate manager role in Arlington. It proved to be a wise choice, as Venable collected a World Series ring during his first year. He pulled himself out of consideration for managerial openings last offseason, formally declining an interview with the Mets and bypassing a chance to pursue the Guardians opening.
Between his standing as the #2 coach in Texas and his decision not to proceed through the interview process last winter, Venable seemed like the manager-in-waiting in Arlington. Bochy will be back for at least a third season and hasn’t publicly tipped his hand on retirement plans. It’s not clear whether the circumstances in Texas have changed. Venable may simply have felt that he needed another year of experience and is now ready to lead a dugout.
Whatever the reason, he viewed this winter as the right time to look for a managerial opportunity. There have only been three vacancies thus far. The Reds quickly brought Terry Francona out of retirement. That left the White Sox and Marlins. Venable not only interviewed for both positions but emerged as a finalist in each search. The Miami Herald reported on Tuesday that he and Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz were finalists for the Marlins position. There hasn’t been any word out of Miami since Venable took the Sox job, but one can infer that Albernaz is likely to land in South Florida.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported on Tuesday that Venable, Albernaz and Phil Nevin were the finalists in Chicago. The Sox are also known to have interviewed Texas bench coach Donnie Ecker. Grady Sizemore, who took over as interim manager when the White Sox fired Pedro Grifol in August, also received consideration. Skip Schumaker, A.J. Ellis, Daniel Descalso, Clayton McCullough and George Lombard were among the other reported candidates.
In August, GM Chris Getz indicated the White Sox were looking outside the organization. While Sizemore was in the mix, they’ll indeed go with an external hire. Venable will have his work cut out for him with the White Sox coming off the worst season in modern baseball history. He joins the franchise at a time when owner Jerry Reinsdorf has floated the possibility of a sale. It’s an organization in flux.
It’s a much different situation than Venable would’ve assumed had he pursued and landed a job with the Mets or Cleveland a year ago. Those clubs certainly would’ve provided a clearer path to contention than he’ll find with the White Sox. Venable is familiar with the city after spending three seasons across town, though, and the rebuild should give him time to learn on the job as he works with a roster that won’t be expected to contend in the near future.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
rct
Poor fella.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
“You shouldn’t have done that, he was just a boy, poor little fella”
padam
Feeling old. Seems as if it were yesterday when he was in double A for the Padres.
draker
Don’t feel too bad. I can remember when his dad Max played for the Giants.
rememberthecoop
And I can remember rooming with Abner Doubeday before the turn if the century. No, that OTHER century.
Logjammer D"Baggagecling
Or 1B coach for the Cubs that was already 4 years ago.
Joeypower
Now he’s on the Wsox’s AAA.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joey – Every time he’s joined a team as coach, they made the postseason in the first year.
That streak might end though.
Quentin
Might? LMAO
avenger65
Now all the Sox need to do is hire a mental health professional to see if Venable was in his right mind when he said Yes to this hopeless job.
Fever Pitch Guy
avenger – He took the job for the same reason Breslow took the job in Boston …… gain experience, build the resume, then use it to get a better job elsewhere.
Atlanta Jack
Avenger must be a cubbie fan.
profhambone2
Vegas odds have the ChiSox in for another 110+ loss season. I hope Venable can survive that and Chris Getz’s (LaRussa) feeble trades like the one that inflicted Miguel Vargas on us, a 4A player. Otherwise, he will be gone as soon as Boche retires. The Rangers are a better run organization and would be such a delicious team to manage with a quality GM.
sergefunction
To me it’s ‘olde’ and sadly I can recollect when banjo hitters were called lute larrupers.
roob
Yep. Now, the White Sox just need a new owner, a new GM, a player development department, an investment in Latin America, a new scouting department, an investment in analytics and a major league offense. They are almost there.
deweybelongsinthehall
Right move IMO was to keep Sizemore. if there is truth to the rumors about selling the club, hopefully Venable got security in the deal as I’m thinking if not this job, he likely would have been soon offered another this or next season.
Prospectnvstr
dewey: I agree with you. The right move (imo) would’ve been to stick with Grady.
IronBallsMcGinty
I’d at least like to see Grady as bench coach. The players really liked him and he seemed interested in doing it.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
How so? Pay raise (assumedly) and almost a can’t lose situation. If the Sox sink even lower somehow, it’ll be because Jerry cut the payroll again, they traded Crochet, and they were already a mess. Venable will take little of that blame.
If he gets them to losing even 110, that’s a big improvement for which he’ll get credit.
Only way he loses is if the Sox manage to lose 130 or if the clubhouse is fractured. When expectations are this low, it becomes easier to exceed them.
avenger65
Unless Getz throws Venable under the bus when they exceed 121 losses next season
As for the “clubhouse culture”, Michael Kopech said yesterday that everything was fine until 2021. Gee, I wonder what happened in 2021 that set the Sox on the road to this year’s record breaking season?
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
Happy birthday your present is getting to manage an mlb team! The worst one in history!
LonnieB
The only good thing is it surely can’t get worse
MartialArtisan
Now now, don’t go selling the Mariners short. The White Sox might be at a historical low, but as the only team to never make it to the World Series, the Mariners are the worst MLB team in history.
avenger65
Hey, we earned that title and I’ll fight to the death anyone who tries to take it from us! Anyway, the Sox earned that title with the most inept players and FO (and ownership) in the history of the modern era! (Please? It’s all we’ve got!)
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
At least Jerry r and Kenny w somehow won it all in 2005 and got a playoff team with la Russa
Say what does playoff baseball feel like anyways?
Ketch
If he wins, he’s a genius. If he loses, the team was awful before he got here. Sounds like a great opportunity
carausda
Good for the Sox, probably not the best for him. I’m sure he demanded 5 years minimum
JScottG
And I’m sure he didn’t get 5 years. Jerry never gives 1st yr skippers 5 yr contracts. Probably 3, slight chance 4 because they had to outbid the Marlins.
Ketch
Does it matter at this point. I don’t think Jerry has 5 years.
avenger65
That’s why the new stadium he’s trying to wrangle from the people of Illinois is so stupid. He’s not gonna be around to see it finished. He could – God forbid – spend his part of the stadium money on better players. He’s not serious about selling the team to someone who’s trying to move it out of town, but if he holds up the city for a new stadium, it’s a win-win for him.
Unclemike1525
It doesn’t really matter if Reinsdorf sells and moves the team which is unlikely. First of all he might not get the votes from the other owners to get that done. Second, Even if he did manage to get that done, MLB would not hesitate for long to replace them because of the market size. MLB in general isn’t stupid and wouldn’t abandon the 3rd biggest market in the country for a lesser one without having a Plan B.
Dogbone
Mike, true story: Stoneys been telling people in AZ – that Reinsdorf has no intention of selling the Sox.
Unclemike1525
Ironic twist of the century:
Reinsdorf moves the team to Nashville. Tampa Bay who just had their stadium trashed leaps in and moves the team to Chicago and completes the cycle Reinsdorf started 30 years ago. Rays now have a market share to improve their team and go on to win the WS. Too bad I probably won’t live to see it but it would be sweet revenge for Chicago fans. Then Unclemike wakes up but it was a cool dream.
Dogbone
LOL, I’m not so sure about the Rays winning the WS, part. But if the Sox moved, Sox park or whatever it’s called now, definitely would make a great place for the Rays to play in 2025.
However I doubt that is a reasonable scenario for Manfred to allow. And I think if Stoneys so sure they won’t move – Stoneys heard it from the horses mouth.
Blue Baron
carausda: How would you know what’s best for someone you don’t know?
He was offered the job and accepted it. Obviously he thinks it’s the best for himself.
Quite likely he knows better than a rando like you.
nitnontu
very good choice by white sox. Might not be the best job, but at least he’s finally a manager. Probably decided not to wait for Botchy to retire.
mostlytoasty
They likely can’t get any worse (although with pay cuts rumored it could certainly be possible)), but either way, most other clubs won’t look too poorly on him if they still stink because what would anyone else do when given such a situation? He’ll look like a future HOF manager if he manages to get this team sniffing within .500
hyraxwithaflamethrower
He’d look like a solid manager if they lose only 115, especially since they seem likely to deal Crochet.
DarkSide830
So did he choose them over Miami or did Miami pass on him? This answer goes a long way towards proving which of the two parties look worse. Can’t imagine picking CHW over Miami, and Venable feels like the best candidate for either team, no?
mohoney
I would have thought that Skip Schumaker’s previous relationship with Drinky Tony would make Schumaker the ideal candidate for Reinsdorf.
Maybe Schumaker didn’t want the job?
hyraxwithaflamethrower
Or maybe, just maybe, Reinsdorf finally realized his constant meddling was killing the team and he let Getz have his way.
Also possible that Schumaker wanted more than the Sox wanted to pay.
avenger65
hyrax: Letting Getz have his way is what’s killing the Sox. I think it’s more tlr’s meddling that’s ruining this franchise.
slidingintobase
Miami did find its way into the post-season in 2023 but, as bad as the White Sox were in 2024, is not an obviously better situation. Neither team looks poised to do much or to spend its way to being competitive. The White Sox at least are trying to remake themselves. Maybe that is attractive to him.
avenger65
Remake themselves into what? Their cutting salary, trading Crochet and Robert and their prospects are rookie and A league quality. But the job is a safe one for Venable. If he took over a competitive team with a strong farm system, the expectations would be high. If he fails with the Sox, would anyone even notice?
Dogbone
Yes avenger, that comment from the White Sox regarding their intention to cut payroll, says it all.
To me, even as a Cub fan, is a slap in the face of every Sox fan – and every tax payer in Illinois.
Reinsdorf IS as bad as you indicate. I feel bad for my friends who still support this train wreck of an organization. Although I do think Venable is a nice choice.
slidingintobase
I was referring to remaking the organization. Scouting, anaytics, interntational and so on. If he wants a chance to put a stamp on an organization, this could be an opportunity. I wouldn’t rank Miami as a clearly better one
Chemo850
The marlins lost their top 7 starters for the majority of the season. The Marlins might not be the Dodgers, but they have way more talent than the Whitesox. They still have one of the top 5 best rotations in baseball and some of the young bats started taking to end the season. I would not be at all shocked if they made the playoffs again next season. I would be shocked however if the white Sox lost less than 100 games next season
cwsOverhaul
DSide: Miami’s division is a beast. Atl/Mets/Philly all have a top notch POBO and deeper pockets.
The ALC is at least a more forgiving path to improve. WSox have to finally hire outside personnel with a clue how to develop position players at all levels to play sound defense and exhibit plate discipline. Staying insular and clueless per JR’s desire to have FO loyalists has caused both rebuilds.
citizen
choice between dumpster fires.
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Congrats, I guess
mad1
Where careers go to die
Buffett
I give him 2 years
Brick House Coffee Tables Inc
He will get three. But nobody in baseball will look at his W/L record, they will look at how he runs the team. He’s only 42, so he can do 3 years here, go into a front office for another 3, and be just 48-49 when he gets his next managing job but with a contending team.
Blah blah blah
Great platoon player on those poverty Padres teams of the early 2010s. Partnered with Carlos Quentin, Cameron Maybin, Chris Denorfia…
Informed Sportsball Discussion
Quentin spearing Greinke was the only entertaining thing that happened with those teams.
The ending to ’24 sucked, but how far the Padre organization has come. Those were dark times.
RO-MACEN
An opportunity is an opportunity..
positively_broad_st
I remember his father Max from when he was a backup outfielder for a few different teams in the 1980’s…
Monkey’s Uncle
Yep. Max was nothing if not persistent. He’d be a bench bat somewhere for a couple of years, disappear for awhile, and then magically reappear somewhere else right when you’d almost forgotten about him. A good roster piece to have around.
TheGr8One
Literally hired to be the coach that gets fired after three years of sorting out this mess and getting them close to respectable. Gonna do the ugly work so the next coach can benefit. Poor soul
Samuel
Baseball has managers.
Blue Baron
TheGr8One: I am reasonably sure he doesn’t want or need you to feel sorry for him.
TheGr8One
That doesn’t make me wrong.
Blue Baron
Maybe, but it’s his choice and not for you to judge.
TheGr8One
and it’s my choice to comment in the comment section of an article. Also not for you to judge. The irony of you judging my comment while telling me not to judge lol swear some people have zero self awareness these days.
NashvilleJeff
@TheGr8One: Be careful w/Blue Baron. He’ll mute you. That’s the punishment he metes out to those of us who recognize that he’s a miserable troll.
TheGr8One
Nashville I pray for such a punishment
Dumpster Divin Theo
Brandon Hyde says hi
kscheer
So do Chris Woodward and Bo Porter
JoeBrady
I always got hired to clean up crap. That’s usually why people get hired. Nobody ever hired Joey because everything was going great.
Brick House Coffee Tables Inc
And if he shows that he can run a high-functioning clubhouse and win more games than the motley pile of dung he will be provided should win, he will be in high demand after those three years.
TheGr8One
If he does half of that he won’t be fired. Alas you must have talent first.
Monkey’s Uncle
I tried to make a pun on “Venable” with “venerable” but couldn’t. Most of you Will thank me for it..
This one belongs to the Reds
I used to call Max “the venerable one” so I laughed at this.
Informed Sportsball Discussion
I don’t know if your pun skills are Venable. Keep them off the resume.
(Blame this link for that lame joke attempt. It is the only link saying a meaning for the word. Supposed to mean “marketable”.)
onelook.com/?ls=b&w=venable#:~:text=venable%2…
highflyballintorightfield
When he maps things out on the whiteboard, can the drawings be called Ven Diagrams?
Unclemike1525
It’s not a bad choice. Frankly I was expecting much worse. They’re still stupid for not picking a strong pitching background manager. Let’s see who he picks for his pitching coach.
Dumpster Divin Theo
Theyre okay with pitching. Check out the development strides the starting pitchers have made under Ethan Katz augmented by the addition of Brian Bannister. It’s the other side of the clubhouse that needs an overhaul
Unclemike1525
Bannister was a nice hire but Katz is horrible. He sucks. The future of the Sox is scattered between AA and AAA pitchers who will be in the show soon. That’s why the trade of Crochet and Robert is important to get the right prospects back who can add to the mix. Hopefully Bannister gets the funds necessary to revamp the minor league pitching instructors. They’re going to be key in any kind of success.
ASapsFables
Hopefully he’ll get a chance to stick around following yet another long rebuild, unlike Rick Renteria who finally got the Sox to the postseason only to get fired and replaced by JR’s pal Tony La Russa.
Niekro floater
Jeez I remember his Dad playing w/Giants. Was nice lil contact hitter w/speed n could play OF. Also remember Will coming up as minor leaguer n now hes 42 n a manager. Where does time go ? Good luck w/new career.
CrikesAlready
Is it just me or are there a lot of ex-padre players who played under Bruce Bochy or Bud Black who have made their way to coach or GM positions? Maybe there’s a lot of teams with players like that, surely somebody knows.
Dumpster Divin Theo
The baseball version of the Andy Reid coaching tree
Niekro floater
Lasorda had Scioscia n Dusty Baker as players n they both won WS as managers. Believe some managers just have better blueprint for winning n by osmosis it instills itself in the nxt generation of coaches. The lil things, day to day.
JoeBrady
Bruce Bochy or Bud Black
==============================
It would make a lot of sense. Both Tito and Theo had their own little tree growing, and teams continue to raid the TB FO.
Non Roster Invitee
Happy birthday Will!
What a wonderful terrible birthday present.
I saw his dad Max play for the Giants and I thought he would be a star.
Best of luck on your managing career.
Cam
Gotta laugh at MLB’s unwritten rule of not announcing things on a playoff day, considering the story was broken by a reporter from the official MLB website
Blue Baron
Cam: It’s really not that funny.
mike127
In the most technical sense the White Sox haven’t announced anything. I haven’t seen anything about a press conference, no quotes from the White Sox or Venable.
The article does say “source”.
I imagine, possibly as quickly as tomorrow morning or over the weekend we may get the “White Sox announce” headline.
Dogbone
I guess they’re waiting for Tony LaRussa to get to town and make the announcement.
baycommuter 2
Going into an impossible situation. The ideal for him would be a two-year contract with a third-year option to gain experience and hope that matches when Bochy retires,
brewsingblue82
I wouldn’t personally want my birthday present to be the first MLB team I manage to be the white Sox. Literally any other team. A 100 loss team, I say is rebuilding. A 120 loss team I’d say is hoping it even can find the start of its rebuild.
TerryTurnbuckle
The first manager to secure a defense pepper spray endorsement in mlb history.
Atlanta Jack
Finally we are headed in the right direction now let him hire his own coaching staff.
rotofool
Right choice
benhen77
Guess Bochy isn’t planning to re-retire anytime soon. Thought Venable was the successor in Texas
kscheer
Career suicide.
brodie-bruce
Good luck Will we’re all counting on you.
JoeBrady
Now that’s just mean-spirited.
brodie-bruce
I was trying to use leslie nielsen quote from airplane
njbirdsfan
How long until Sox fans turn on this guy when he’s given at best a AAA team to manage?
hyraxwithaflamethrower
He’ll have a looooong leash. TLR took over a playoff team and sunk them to .500. Grifol then took over and sunk them to record-loss territory. It’ll be hard for any manager to continue to sink the team still further. Unless they get 130 losses or the players quit on him, he can’t really lose. They lose 120 again and people will say it’s because Jerry cut payroll and they traded Crochet, so it was actually ok considering all that. Anything better and he’s a solid to stud manager. If he can take the losing the first couple years, it’s actually a pretty cushy first gig as manager.
dvmin98
Probably a best case scenario for the organization. Venable is a great guy, fairly young and has been working up to this. Unfortunately for him, he’s gonna have more bad than good times with this team. Hope they give him a long leash.
oldredgunslinger
It’s like being named the new captain of the Titanic.
BigB
He’s got a huge mess to fix. Hopefully, he gets to choose his coaches and makes the personnel decisions,, I’m fine with the hire. Goodluck Will, Sox fans are hoping you can turn this team around.
Clofreesz
Will, this is an extremely fateful decision. I wish you the best of luck but don’t expect you to not be sucked down into the quagmire that is Southside than pull them back up.
HalosHeavenJJ
Interesting choice to bypass last year’s interviews then take this job.
Bit he’s an Ivy League grad and I’m not.
Jump 84
Mr. Reinsdorf please sell the team. Terrible brand of baseball from ownership to low minors. ask the Southside. Buckle up Will. Gonna be fun.
Drasco0366
Remember when the White Sox fired Rick Renteria in favor of Tony La Russa? That was fun…
GarryHarris
This type of managerial blunder has happened twice in my lifetime. I still remember when the ChiSox fired Chuck Tanner after the 1975 season and hired Paul Richards. Tanner had a three man rotation centered around Wilbur Wood, Jim Kaat and Stan Bahnsen and a stop dead bullpen. Richards made all the bullpen arms starters including Goose Gossage.
Jim Carter
Save the usual whining. We’ve all heard it before. Follow a different team or sport.
GarryHarris
David Ross would be a good choice…. or Tony LaRussa.
El Kabong
Excellent choice. Kudos to Will Venable for being unafraid of pursuing a massive challenge. Many people would turn down the opportunity for fear of failing.
letitbelowenstein
I would like to have seen them give Sizemore a shot at a full season, but Venable seems like a decent choice.
Acoss1331
Someone in the comments from previous articles said Venable was going to be the guy because he was a coach for the Cubs. Just a genuine golf clap for that excellent prediction, can’t remember who it was though sorry!
Venable is very knowledgeable, this should establish good baseball habits in the clubhouse.
White Eagle
I know I am being optimistic, but the White Sox have nice, young, and affordable starting pitching. This is the hardest thing to accumulate in baseball.. They have 4 top tier prospects in Schultz, Montgomery, Smith, and Quero. Good catchers are hard to find too and the Sox have 2 young catchers in Lee and Quero. No bad long term contracts either.
Even if they trade Crochet, the pitching will be solid and they will get nice, young, and affordable position players in return.
I did not like what Getz did at the trade deadline last year. However, he seems to want to put an emphasis on pitching and defense which is a wise choice. It took some time to get rid of the idiot core (Anderson, Eloy, Moncada, Grandal, etc.) and that’s why last year was a nightmare.
The challenge is that the division is probably the toughest it has ever been. Cleveland, KC, Detroit, and to a lesser extent Minnesota, all seem to be on the upswing.
Let’s see how it plays out.. This rebuild will not take 1 year but it won’t take 5 years either. Go Sox!
BigB
Nailed it!
JSC Cubbs
What’s a solid year for white Sox 2025,
70-92?
I’d guess the reasonable target is just double digit losses.
The Brokenheart Kid
Wonder if Venable has an opt-out clause just as so many players have these days.
How is his Spanish?
Will he be allowed to choose all or most of his coaches? If he does, will he bring back Daryl Boston?
PutPeteinthehall
Now all they have to do is sign about 25 misfits/rejects from other teams. Bring back 10 of the most promising rookies from last year and keep another 15-16 of the misfits with the remainder going to the farm waiting on the call. The 2005 WS champs were 90 percent misfits from other teams. They also hammered every team in the post season. Roger Clemens and David Wells were bombed. Even their manager was a misfit. Come on Uncle Jer and sign every bad apple or misfit you can find. Even if they suck it will be entertaining. The last two seasons the product I saw on the field was the worst baseball I ever saw. Do something to shake this up!
VegasSDfan
Great hire, he is a great guy
Castiglione
Player/Coach, might as well give it a try
RunDMC
Still glad they didn’t select Ron Washington (taking Grifol) as the manager last go-around. He’d already be out of a job. Crazy when LAA is a step — err — bump up.
CKinSTL
This might not be a bad gig for a first time manager. The expectations are exceedingly low and they do have a handful of promising youngsters. The big challenge is going to be changing that culture.