After guiding the Chicago White Sox through a remarkable turnaround, Will Venable has entered the conversation for Manager of the Year. His performance in the AL Wild Card Series only strengthened that case.
Venable seemingly pushed all the right buttons as the White Sox swept the Houston Astros in two games, in a series they never trailed at any point.
It all starts with the culture that Venable established in Spring Training. From the beginning, Venable emphasized doing the little things right and finding multiple ways to win. At the same time, he gave his players the freedom to be themselves, allowing their personalities to come through.
That balance helped keep the dugout lively and injected energy into a young team, even during the dog days of the season. More importantly, Venable clearly earned the respect of his players. Regardless of the score, the White Sox continued to play with urgency, running hard down the line and refusing to give away outs — a level of effort that wasn’t always present on Chicago’s last playoff team in 2021.
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Another key to Venable’s success was his ability to get contributions from throughout the roster while keeping egos in check. Andrew Benintendi, the highest-paid player in franchise history, was relegated to a platoon role, yet he never publicly complained or appeared disengaged throughout the season.
Nick Hundley, special assistant for the Texas Rangers and former teammate of Venable’s, summed it up perfectly shortly after he was hired as the White Sox manager.
“Players are going to play so hard for him because they know he cares more about their careers than his own,” Hundley said.
While there have been plenty of missteps and questionable lineup decisions throughout the regular season, Venable showed he learned from those mistakes and clearly did his homework.
In Game 1, Venable made an unconventional challenge of Jose Altuve’s positioning in the fourth inning, after a Sam Antonacci groundout. Under the shift rules, an infielder cannot be touching the outfield grass when the pitch is delivered. Altuve was playing deep, heels on the edge of the dirt, and the White Sox asked the crew to look.
The call was upheld, and the out stood, but what the challenge showed was the scouting, not the result. The staff had flagged how deep Altuve was setting up and came in ready to test it on a ground ball that was already an out. On the next pitch, Altuve was looking down to check where he was setting up and sent a clear message to Houston the positioning was being watched.
Venable also made a savvy decision to hand the ball to Hagen Smith to start Game 1, with both teams employing an opener strategy. It was a formula the White Sox had become comfortable with throughout the season, particularly given their thin starting rotation.
After Smith’s appearance, Venable turned to Jordan Hicks, Sean Newcomb, David Sandlin and Grant Taylor. The four relievers combined to allow just four hits, shutting down the Astros and preserving Chicago’s 6-3 victory.
One of Chicago’s biggest priorities entering the series was keeping Yordan Alvarez — one of baseball’s most complete hitters in check, and Venable’s deployment of the bullpen helped do just that. He went a combined 1-for-8 for the series.
Defensively, Venable also made the decision to replace Sam Antonacci with Brenton Doyle in the late innings of both games. On the surface, it was an obvious move given that Doyle was acquired largely for his defensive ability. But the decision carried added significance after a poor route to a fly ball from Antonacci contributed to a costly loss against Cleveland on Sept. 15.
Venable did not make the same mistake twice. With the White Sox protecting late leads in both Wild Card games, he prioritized defense by turning to Doyle in the outfield when every run mattered.
The White Sox also used small ball to manufacture a crucial insurance run in the seventh inning. After the Astros cut Chicago’s lead to 5-2, Munetaka Murakami and Randal Grichuk opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Tristan Peters followed with a perfectly placed bunt, advancing both runners into scoring position.
The move paid off. Murakami came home on a wild pitch, giving the White Sox their final run of the night and restoring their four-run cushion.
The White Sox were clinging to a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning and had gone hitless since the first. Andrew Benintendi opened the inning with a walk before Venable immediately replaced him with Luisangel Acuña as a pinch runner.
Acuña wasted no time putting his speed to use, stealing second before Tristan Peters drew another walk. That set the stage for a perfectly executed double steal. Chase Meidroth opened his at-bat by squaring to bunt, drawing Houston’s third baseman in toward the grass. With the corner infielder out of position, Acuña took off for third on the next pitch and slid in safely without a throw.
It was another move that appeared to be straight out of the White Sox’s pregame preparation. More importantly, the double steal put two runners in scoring position. Meidroth then put an exclamation point on the victory with a three-run homer to left field.
Venable did not manage a perfect season, and the lineup card had the scars to prove it. What changed in October was the correction. Antonacci came out. Benintendi ran for someone faster and did not fight it. The bullpen was used the way it had been used all year, only now the lead held. The White Sox spent six months learning how to win. In two games against Houston, the manager looked like he had been taking notes.
