Will Venable understands his first job as a Major League Baseball manager would be a tough one, taking over a team with a record 121 losses last season.
Yet he is embracing the opportunity with the Chicago White Sox.
“I don’t think that there’s one managerial job that is easy,” he said on Thursday on a Zoom with media. “All these jobs come with their unique challenges. I’m excited about the challenges that are presented here with this group.”
Photo: AP
Venable was hired by the White Sox after they set the modern MLB record for most losses in a season, going 41-121. The team made the announcement on Thursday, hours after the World Series ended.
“We certainly understand where we are as an organization,” general manager Chris Getz said.
“Will does as well. There are going to be different phases along the way, but we feel like Will can be part of not only the near future here in ’25, but beyond as our roster begins to take shape,” he added.
Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, is stepping in for Pedro Grifol, who was fired in August. Grady Sizemore served as interim manager.
Venable asked Getz what would happen to Sizemore if Venable got the job. Getz said that would be up to the manager. “I will say that he’s admired.”
Getz said the White Sox went from having “60-plus” candidates to 20 and ultimately five finalists.
“You go into these interviews and you want to learn about what’s going on,” Venable said.
“There are things that you can guess at from the outside. But you don’t know until you get in there and you have some of these conversations,” he said.
“That’s what was exciting for me is that I got to have those conversations and was able to develop a real belief in Chris and the program, to the degree that I’m really excited to take the job,” he added.
Venable was an associate manager of the Texas Rangers alongside Bruce Bochy for the past two years.
He handled daily schedule items and outfield instruction as part of his duties with the Rangers, who won the World Series in 2023.
Venable played baseball and basketball while majoring in anthropology at Princeton. He was an all-Ivy League performer in each sport.
He was selected by San Diego in the seventh round of the 2005 amateur draft. The outfielder played for the Padres, Rangers and Dodgers in nine years in the majors, hitting .249 with 81 homers, 307 RBIs and 135 steals in 967 games.
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