The Will Venable effect and the birth of a new White Sox identity

The Will Venable effect and the birth of a new White Sox identity originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . After a nine-year playing career in the big leagues, Will Venable wanted to remain in the game.

So, he took the logical next step that many players do after retiring, and that is to jump into the coaching side of things. He started as a special assistant to Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein, served as the team's first base coach, and eventually became the third base coach. And ahead of the 2025 season, he was given the chance to manage.

The Chicago White Sox hired him to take over for Pedro Grifol. MORE: Fantasy owners may want to get familiar with Grant Taylor before it's too late The Will Venable effect and the birth of a new White Sox identity Getting this job, Venable knew that he had his work cut out for him. This is a team that is steadily rebuilding after it failed to make noise during its championship window.

But so far, the new skipper has done a great job to rally this group, give young players time to develop in the big leagues, and form a new identity for the Pale Hose. Team insider Scott Merkin is happy to see the team forming a new identity under their manager and is excited for what's to come. "The White Sox began to form an identity during Will Venable's first year as manager, and with the gradual-but-steady 2025 big league promotions of their young core, they have sharpened that identity throughout Spring Training.