Will Venable couldn’t put a figure on the number of texts and calls he received as word spread that he had been named the new Chicago White Sox manager.
He made sure to respond to them all.
“It took the entire day (Wednesday) and a little bit of (Thursday) morning,” Venable said Thursday afternoon. “I’m just so appreciative of the love and support I got from everybody.”
Venable, 42, mentioned mentors from high school to the majors during his introductory videoconference call Thursday.
“I’m definitely somebody who has benefited from the people around me from Day One,” he said.
Here are some of his takeaways during his journey to becoming a major-league manager.
Princeton basketball
Venable, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 9.3 points over four seasons at Princeton, starting in 82 of the 109 game in which he played. He earned first-team All-Ivy League honors as a junior in 2004 and received second-team recognition as a senior in 2005. He earned first-team All-Ivy baseball honors in 2005, becoming the second player in league history to make the first team in both basketball and baseball.
“Probably the No. 1 thing that sticks out (playing college basketball) is the attention to detail with the Princeton offense,” Venable said. “The spacing, the timing. We would practice for a long time and just about the details of our offense. And I look at baseball as the same way. There’s so many details and things you need to pay attention to out on the field and be on top of.
“Not going to do as many walkthroughs on the baseball field as we did in college basketball, but certainly the attention to detail is something I’ve taken away from my time at Princeton.”
Major-league player
Venable, a former outfielder, played nine seasons in the majors with the San Diego Padres (2008-15), Texas Rangers (2015) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2016), slashing .249/.315/.404 with 118 doubles, 39 triples, 81 home runs, 307 RBIs, 378 runs and 135 stolen bases in 967 games.
“No. 1 is empathy and understanding how challenging the game is,” Venable said of how the playing experience can be beneficial. “There’s going to be times where things are really good in this game for individual guys and most of the time they’re going to feel the bad. I know I certainly spent a lot of time feeling I was never going to come out of it. That the game was kind of consuming me a little bit. That perspective and how you lead and communicate with people is important.
“And understanding the demands of a 162-game season and how we go about our training and how we set up our schedule and take care of the guys and understand that it’s a grind.”
Chicago Cubs
Venable joined the Cubs in September 2017 as a special assistant to baseball operations. He then became part of the major-league staff as the first-base coach (2018-19) and third-base coach in 2020.
“(Then-manager) Joe Maddon was creative and innovative and an unbelievable leader,” Venable said. “The one thing that really sticks out to me there is his ability to stay positive. It didn’t matter what the score of the game was, what time of the day, just kind of the same presence about him and that’s something I’ll always admire about him and something that really stands out.”
Boston Red Sox
Venable spent the 2021-22 seasons as the Red Sox bench coach. He also oversaw outfield instruction and coordinated the team’s spring training camp.
“(Manager) Alex (Cora) was an amazing leader,” Venable said. “And certainly his ability to build relationships with players was amazing. How he went about it. He was very intentional with everything he did and very player driven.
“Came with an amazing understanding of what players need and where they’re at. That’s a huge thing and something that will be important to me as a manager, just understanding where the guys are at individually.”
Texas Rangers
Venable worked as the associate manager with the Rangers in 2023-24, and his responsibilities included daily scheduling and outfield instruction under Bruce Bochy.
He handled the club’s scheduling throughout their 2023 postseason run, aiding in the franchise’s first World Series title.
“It’s just the way (Bochy) went about it and included me in conversations,” Venable said. “I would say 75% of the time that he handed me the lineup for the day, he would ask me if I wanted to change anything and he was serious. If I ever did have a suggestion, more often than not he would listen and would do what he wanted to do anyway. But it was that type of engagement with his process that really just accelerated my development and understanding.
“The same thing happened on the bullpen side with my role in creating game plans. I just could not thank Boch enough for that, because it really made all the difference.”
Every step has prepared him for this next chapter with the Sox.
“Every team across the league, you’re going to have your challenges and adversity,” Venable said. “And to be able to create a winning mentality where you say, ‘Hey, I know we’re going to struggle with some stuff. But if we continue to go out there and compete, 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 is the mentality I want this team to have.”
