(670 The Score) New White Sox manager Will Venable’s mindset is simple as he enters a tough job leading a team that’s coming off a campaign in which it set an MLB record for losses in a single season.
“Regardless of where you’re at and what you’re trying to do, the most important thing is building a culture and creating an environment that gives these guys the best chance to go out there and win and compete,” Venable said in a Zoom call Thursday as the White Sox introduced him. “Regardless of where you’re at, that’s the focus and that’s something that I’m coming in here looking to do from Day 1.”
Venable, 42, was officially hired as the 44th manager in White Sox franchise history Thursday, two days after news broke that the sides had reached an agreement. He joins the White Sox after working as the Rangers’ associate manager for the past two seasons in Texas, where he was a part of the 2023 team that won the World Series.
Prior to working for the Rangers, Venable was the Red Sox’s bench coach for two seasons and worked for the Cubs from 2017-’20, first in their front office and then as their first-base coach and third-base coach. Venable had a nine-year MLB playing career as an outfielder.
Upon taking the new job, Venable largely brushed off concerns about the White Sox’s season of futility in 2024, when they set an MLB record with 121 losses. He kept his mind on the bigger picture in his conversations with general manager Chris Getz.
“No. 1, you just have to set really clear expectations for how we want to go about our business on a daily basis and be able to follow up and develop leadership that can hold people accountable,” Venable said of the key to turning the White Sox’s culture around. “But it’s also about creating a winning mentality. In every team across the league … you’re going to have your challenges and adversity and to be able to create a winning mentality to where you say, ‘Hey, I know we’re going to struggle with some stuff, but if we continue to go out there and compete, if we continue to work together and focus on the things we know win games and are good teammates to each other, then we can overcome a lot together.’ That’s my mentality. That’s the mentality I want this team to have. For me, you put those two things together and you develop a really strong culture.”
Venable called it a “hard decision” to leave the Rangers, but he felt “confident about this opportunity and the people” in the White Sox organization. Venable cited his love of the city of Chicago, Getz’s reputation and values and “the foundation that they’ve laid and will continue to lay” for the reasons why he was drawn to the job on the South Side.
“I’m extremely confident that I’m prepared for this opportunity,” Venable said.
The White Sox initially had a list of 60 or so managerial candidates in mind that they discussed internally, Getz said, then they whittled that down to around 20 candidates and “began a more personalized interview process” from there. They had a group of five managerial finalists who visited Chicago in person and met with the baseball operations department and various panels, Getz said.
“It became very clear through that process that Will Venable was the right fit for us,” Getz said.
Venable fills an opening that was created when the White Sox fired Pedro Grifol on Aug. 8, when they sat at 28-89. Interim manager Grady Sizemore then led the team to a 13-32 mark the rest of the way.
Whether Sizemore will be part of the White Sox’s coaching staff moving forward is up to Venable, Getz said.