CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox hired Will Venable to take over as manager, turning to the former big league outfielder to help turn around the team after a miserable season.
Two people with direct knowledge of the decision confirmed the choice to the Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because the franchise hadn’t announced the move.
Venable, who turned 42 on Tuesday, is stepping in for Pedro Grifol, who was fired in August with the White Sox on their way to breaking the modern major league record for most losses in a season. With Grady Sizemore serving as interim manager, the club finished with a 41-121 record.
Venable was an associate manager for Texas 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 studying 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.
After his playing career ended, Venable joined the Cubs’ front office in September 2017 as a special assistant to baseball operations. He also was on the team’s major league staff for three years, spending two seasons as the first base coach and one as the third base coach.
Venable also was the bench coach for Red Sox manager Alex Cora for two years before joining the Rangers.
Venable comes from an athletic family. His father, Max, played parts of 12 seasons in the majors, and also was a minor league manager and coach. Will’s brother, Winston, played college football at Boise State and appeared in 12 games with the Chicago Bears during the 2011 season.
