White Sox' Will Venable Wins AL Manager of the Year

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable is your 2026 AL Manager of the Year.

Venable was announced as the winner during the BBWAA awards show on Tuesday night, beating out Chad Tracy of the Boston Red Sox and Kevin Cash of the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.

Venable had been the odds-on favorite for most of the 2026 season. And when the White Sox landed their first postseason berth since 2021, it only cemented the belief that he'd be taking home this award.

Voting for Manager of the Year is submitted after the regular season and before the playoffs begin. It certainly helped Venable's case that Cash and the Rays did not have their AL pennant taken into consideration, but rather the 24-win improvement by an upstart White Sox team remained one of the biggest stories of the year.

There's certainly a case for each of the other two finalists, and Venable was far from perfect at times in 2026. But one thing that's undeniable is the culture he created in Chicago. The White Sox had chemistry in the clubhouse that carried them to overachieve early in the season. That instilled a belief in a team of young players that they were capable of accomplishing anything.

That belief carried them much further than they probably should have gone, given the roster on paper.

Unlike other awards like MVP, Rookie of the Year, or Cy Young, there are no stats to truly capture the impact of a manager. Baseball writers vote based on a team's record and the narrative surrounding that team throughout the season. The White Sox improved by 24 games one year after improving by 19 games.

In just two seasons, the White Sox went from 41-121 to a playoff team under Will Venable. And while this award is recognition for 2026, there were plenty of advocates for Venable to be Manager of the Year in 2025. His cumulative efforts in this White Sox turnaround undoubtedly factored into the perception of his candidacy.

And as I said, the narrative is in control. All anybody could talk about for most of 2026 was how unexpected this White Sox season was, how incredible the turnaround had been, and how Chicago was maximizing the young talent it had.

That was always going to earn Venable some points over the rest of the AL managers who had more talented rosters.

While there's plenty Venable can improve on from an in-game analytics and decision-making standpoint, this AL Manager of the Year recognition is confirmation for the White Sox that they have the right leader in the clubhouse. They have the right guy setting the tone and establishing the culture. And as the White Sox move forward with loftier expectations, they have an award-winning manager who's been recognized as the best in the American League and recently won a World Series as an assistant coach. That's a really encouraging fact.