Will Venable has deservedly won the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) American League Manager of the Year. Venable not only empowered the youngest team in the American League to reach the playoffs, but he also made history by making the Chicago White Sox the first team in MLB to win over 80 games after three consecutive 100-game losing seasons. In the history of the big leagues, no team has ever bounced back from two straight 100-loss seasons (let alone three) the way the White Sox did this year
The White Sox were given little or no chance of reaching the postseason at the start of the 2026, but Venable surprised everyone in the sport leading a team full of rookies far beyond their expectations in the playoffs. Just a few weeks ago, Sporting News honored Venable with the publication’s award for AL Manager of the Year, and winning the BBWAA award only proves how much hard work he put in to transform the Sox in a very short period of time. For the first time in five years, the White Sox club was radiating good vibes and positivity throughout the 2026 season.
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Will Venable arrived at the White Sox clubhouse following their 121-loss 2024 season. He began the team’s momentous rebuild the following season, but they posted a poor 60-102 record. In 2026, he completed the turnaround with an 84-78 record. He did that with 15 White Sox players who were making their major league debuts this season, behind only the San Francisco Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays. There were few difficult periods for the team, particularly the rocky April, and there were times when his inexperience was exposed in pitching matchups, but he learnt quickly, empowering the team to be competitive.
Not only Venable, but the coaches he has brought in have also been solid so far, and the South Siders wound up with one of the best offenses in baseball: They ranked first in the American League (fifth in MLB) in runs scored (776) and RBIs (740), while mashing 211 home runs as a team, second in the AL and fifth in all of baseball. They defeated the Houston Astros in the playoffs wild-card series and were just one win shy of overcoming their rivals, the Cleveland Guardians, in the American League Division Series.
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Venable won the AL manager of the year over Kevin Cash of the Tampa Bay Rays and Chad Tracy from the Boston Red Sox, who are also solid candidates given each team’s season. Cash led the Rays to becoming the best team in the AL all year, clinching the American League pennant before collapsing to the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.
Tracy, on the other hand, arrived at Boston after the organization had fired Alex Cora and decided to overhaul the coaching staff not even 30 games into the season. Despite the immediate challenges, he led them on an insane 15-game win streak in July while finishing with a 77-58 record before ultimately falling to the New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series.
Venable joins Ozzie Guillén (2005), Jerry Manuel (2000), Jeff Torborg (1990), Tony La Russa (1983) and Chuck Tanner (1972) as previous White Sox managers to win the BBWAA award. He will always be remembered for the exceptional job he did in 2026, by giving the Sox fans hope and steering the team past its dark days. However, this is not the first award that Venable will win since he ended his playing career. In 2023, with the Texas Rangers, he won World Series Champion (Assistant General Manager) of the year.
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Main Photo Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
