Did the hiring of Will Venable surprise those close to the White Sox?
According to former catcher A.J. Pierzynski, “numerous” people thought Grady Sizemore would be named the team’s next manager. Sizemore’s name came up as one of the finalists late in the search before the club hired Venable last week.
“I’ve heard from numerous people, numerous people that are deeper in that organization than I am, that they were really thinking it was going to be Grady Sizemore,” Pierzynski said during a recent episode of Foul Territory. “They really, really thought that this was going to be Grady Sizemore’s job.”
Sizemore, 42, is coming off an eventful first season as a major league coach. Originally brought on to assist with outfielders and baserunners, the former Cleveland center fielder was named the White Sox’s interim manager on August 8 following the dismissal of Pedro Grifol and several other staffers. Sizemore led the team to a 13-32 record in the final stretch of the record-setting 121-loss season. Though the record doesn’t show it, players respected Sizemore and played hard with him at the helm. Because of this, GM Chris Getz announced at the end of the season that he would remain a serious candidate during their search despite revealing that an outside hire was more than likely.
Selected in the third round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos, Sizemore spent the majority of his career as a center fielder in Cleveland. In parts of ten major league seasons, he was a three-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glove Award winner, and a Silver Slugger. Following his playing days, Sizemore recently served as a minor-league instructor with the Guardians and a coach with the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks.
Sizemore’s current coaching contract with the White Sox runs through the 2025 season, per reports. This factored in with his stint as interim manager has made him a prime candidate to remain in some capacity. Getz even confirmed there would be holdovers from the previous staff.
“There will be coaches that are coming back,” Getz said during Venable’s introductory press conference. “We are working through the specific roles, and you know, we are just getting started having those conversations with Will, but there will be some familiar faces.”
No timetable has been set for Venable’s first coaching staff to be put together, according to Getz. However, the team revealed Grifol’s staff official several weeks after his hire, making it reasonable to expect some clarity by the end of the month.
As we await further information, follow us on social media @SoxOn35th for more updates.
Featured Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
