New White Sox manager Will Venable knows there's a lot of work ahead
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The White Sox on Friday formally introduced their new manager on the South Side.
Will Venable spent the past two seasons as the associate manager for the Texas Rangers under Bruce Bochy. In Venable's first season with the Rangers, they won the World Series in 2023. His duties with the Rangers included assisting Bochy, daily scheduling, and outfield instruction.
Before his stint in Texas, he was a special assistant and coach for the Cubs from 2017 to 2020, and a bench coach for the Boston Red Sox in 2021 and 2022.
There is nowhere to go but up for Will Venable and the Sox, but there is also a lot of work ahead if they want to be contenders again anytime soon.
"We're going to continue to fight, and we're going to continue to build, and we're going to continue to work towards the type of team that we know we want to have out there," he said. "You know, we understand that that doesn't happen overnight, but that we're working extremely hard to get there."
Venable said he has learned from every manager he has worked under—Bochy with the Rangers, Alex Cora with the Red Sox, and Joe Maddon with the Cubs. He hopes to adopt some of each of their styles as he himself takes over as manager for the White Sox.
"I think they're all different, but one thing that they all have in common is their ability to communicate with players, which is something that I hope I can bring to the table as well—and beyond that, you know, I've just been lucky to see a lot of different things from these guys—between Joe Maddon and the environment he created, Alex Cora, his ability to get through a game strategically, and then Bruce Bochy, who just does everything and it's just amazing," he said, "so take a little bit of everyone, and hope to apply it to my managerial style."
Venable added that he has been talking with White Sox players, and has seen lots of excitement and motivation coming out of the depths of despair last year.
Venable, a former outfielder, played for nine seasons in the majors, batting .249/.315/.404, with 118 doubles, 39 triples, 81 home runs, 307 RBI, 378 runs scored and 135 stolen bases in 967 games.
After retiring as a player, Venable spent three seasons as a coach and front office executive with the Cubs, joining them as a special assistant to baseball operations in September 2017, before becoming their first base coach in 2018 and 2019 and the bench coach in 2020. The Cubs made the playoffs in 2018 and 2020 while Venable was on the staff.