The postgame celebration songs pounded through the Bluetooth speakers in the Chicago White Sox clubhouse on Monday night, minutes after the team’s playoff victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
The White Sox, who lost 121 games two seasons ago, have made a remarkable turnaround. A team who were once so abject that they stopped tweeting out their results are now just five wins from the World Series. They can seal their progress to the American League Championship Series on Wednesday if they beat the Guardians in Chicago.
But amid the clubhouse excitement in Cleveland, one individual remained the same. As usual.
“He’s the same guy every single day,” White Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi said about the club’s manager, Will Venable. “He’s even keel. … Being Steady Eddie and showing up every day as the same guy.”
Venable has been the catalyst for the White Sox this year. His consistent approach and calm demeanor have helped set the tone for a team whose manager once envisioned his future on a basketball court. Long before Venable managed a major-league team, he learned about spacing, timing, preparation, trust and precision away from the baseball diamond.
Venable was a shooting guard for Princeton University from 2001 to 2005. He was first team All-Ivy League, led his team to the NCAA Tournament and once scored 21 points against Duke. As a baseball player, Venable was also All-Ivy, which made him only the second Princeton athlete to accomplish that distinction in baseball and basketball.
And he eventually took the Princeton concepts of basketball and used them in his baseball career.
“For me, my time playing basketball, especially at Princeton, helped me understand the importance of attention to detail,” said Venable, who played eight years in the majors, mostly for the San Diego Padres. “The spacing and timing required [in the Princeton offense] helped me as a baseball player understand the importance of every little detail.”
Princeton’s style of basketball taught Venable how to see baseball spatially and collectively. The basic concepts of the Princeton offense rely on constant player movement, precise passing, back-door cuts and read-and-react decisions rather than fixed set plays.
The Princeton offense is about players functioning as connected pieces rather than individuals. This postseason, Chicago’s pitching philosophy has been a team effort – sharing the ball as in basketball. Instead of the traditional routine in the playoffs of leaning on a starter to throw six-plus innings followed by relief, the White Sox focus on managing matchups, not innings. It’s not about who starts but who gets the next out.
Venable essentially manages his pitching staff the way a basketball coach manages a roster: through combinations, matchups, short bursts and putting players into situations where their particular skills have the greatest advantage.
“That’s carried over into managing,” Venable said. “The details matter: where we position guys, the timing of their pre-pitch movements, timing at the plate, all the very fine details and the precision of the game. I learned that through my time in basketball.”
And many of White Sox players have learned from their manager. They learned from the unconventional style but mostly from the confidence that leaks into his players.
That confidence was on display Monday when rookie Braden Montgomery’s opposite-field double in the sixth inning gave the White Sox the lead. In that same inning, Montgomery scored on a single as the White Sox held on for a 4-3 Game 2 victory. The switch-hitting outfielder had a .430 OPS in 103 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in the regular season, the worst among qualifying hitters from the right side of the plate. And it was just his third hit in 12 postseason plate appearances.
“That’s a guy that’s not going to shy away from the moment,” Venable said. “It all culminates into trusting the player and really again putting the nine best guys out there to get the job done.”
Montgomery said Venable’s quote is special.
“I respect him so much for having that confidence in me, and that means the world to me,” Montgomery said. “I’d run through a wall for Will.”
Earlier this season catcher Kyle Teel needed a dose of confidence as he struggled at the plate after he returned to the active roster.
“[Will] came up to me and told me not to do too much and stay within myself,” Teel said. “I hit a home run right after he said that. He’s a phenomenal leader. I’m grateful he’s our manager.”
Shortstop Colson Montgomery said Venable’s confidence has a strong influence on the team.
“When you see your manager walking around with all of the confidence in the world, why would I not walk around like that too,” Montgomery said. “There’s never a doubt wondering if he believes in me.”
After losing 102 games in his first season as manager in 2025, Venable earned belief when the White Sox made a chase for a Central Division title this season and finished 84-78. They fell one game short behind the Guardians. Venable says the turnaround is a team and organizational effort.
“[General manager Chris Getz] was very clear about what he thought [winning] looked like, and as he outlined his plan and his values, I was very much in line with that,” Venable said. “That’s why I ultimately thought it was a good partnership and that this was going to be a place where we could help the organization move forward. … I was on board with the vision and wanted to do my part to help him.”
His part included developing a trust among his players, establishing confidence and bringing the lessons from basketball – precision, trust, interconnectedness and unselfishness – to baseball.
“It’s because they’ve done it together,” Venable said. “It’s because they’ve done it for each other, and that’s something that we witness every single day in that clubhouse.”
Leave a Reply