The Chicago White Sox won 60 games in Will Venable’s first season as manager. A year later, the team had a two-game lead in the ALDS before its fairytale season ended.
For that reason, Venable was named the 2026 American League Manager of the Year on Tuesday. He beat out Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash and Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy as finalists for the honor.
With Cash leading the Rays to a record 98 wins and Tracy saving the Red Sox from a dreadful 10-17 start, voters went for the man responsible for baseball’s biggest turnaround in 2026.
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The White Sox improved their win total by 24 games from 2025 and finished second in the AL Central after leading the division for much of the year. The team entered the 2026 season and is projected to finish last in the division.
Venable played a pretty big role in the White Sox resurgence, especially on the pitching side. In order to get the most out of a shaky rotation, Venable has shown a willingness to use openers and bullpen games to give his team an edge.
He is the sixth White Sox manager to win this award, joining Ozzie Guillen (2005), Jerry Manuel (2000), Gene Lamont (1993), Jeff Torborg (1990) and Tony LaRussa (1983).
Although Venable benefited from the team’s collective breakthrough on offense, he often used platoons to put players in the best positions to succeed. It worked: A year after finishing 14th in the AL in runs scored, the White Sox led the league with 776 runs scored in 2026.
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As MLB collects its end-of-year votes ahead of the postseason, Venable put those same skills on display during the team’s surprising postseason run. The White Sox won their first four playoff games, sweeping the Astros in the wild-card round and taking a 2–0 lead over the Guardians in the ALDS, despite using a conventional starter only once during that stretch. The Guardians won this series 3-2.
With Venable at the helm, the White Sox are poised for even more success in the years to come. After proving himself in 2026, Venable will try to show that he and the White Sox are the real deal in 2027.
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