Will Venable didn’t give much thought to becoming a manager while he was playing. “Watching (then-San Diego Padres manager) Buddy Black operate and understanding his skill set and what was asked of his job, it was probably five years into my career that I even understood, on the surface, what a manager really does,” Venable said during a videoconference call Thursday. An opportunity to go through the interview process for the Chicago Cubs opening after the 2019 season lit a spark. “(Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein) were very transparent and said, ‘We see you as a potential manager down the road, and this is going to help you get there,’ ” Venable said. “That was the first time I thought, ‘Wow, someone thinks that I can do this,’ and kind of opened my eyes to the possibility.” Possibility became reality Thursday as the Chicago White Sox introduced Venable as their new manager. “Super excited for this opportunity,” Venable said. “I can’t wait to get to work.” General manager Chris Getz and the Sox worked their way through an initial list of 60 candidates, cutting it to 20 and then five to find Venable. He is the 44th manager in franchise history. “The thing that stands out with Will is the consistency,” Getz said. “He can control his emotions, and it makes him an effective communicator. And when we’re talking about managing a major-league club, regardless of the state of the organization, there’s always obstacles, there’s always adversity. “And he’s got the leadership qualities to be consistent throughout a season but also through consecutive seasons. That’s the skill set that really stood out to me. I had a pretty good idea that he carried those traits going into the interview process, but I was even more confident as we got to the finish line.” Venable, 42, and the Sox agreed on a multiyear contract. Reports of the hiring first surfaced late Tuesday. “I have high expectations for effort,” Venable said. “It’s not just going out there and playing hard. It’s about pressuring the other team. I think that’s just something that’s really important to being competitive. “And just competing. Getting the mindset where you can go out there and continue to compete regardless of what happened the last play, the last game or the last week. Those two things are the most important for me.” Column: Why Will Venable’s hiring makes sense for a Chicago White Sox team looking to change its image Venable spent the last two seasons as associate manager of the Texas Rangers, with his duties including daily scheduling and outfield instruction. “I think about my two years there and the acceleration of my development really attributed to (manager) Bruce Bochy and (general manager) Chris Young and (owner) Ray Davis and the things that they did,” Venable said. “It’s with that development I feel extremely confident that I’m prepared for this opportunity, but I also know that without them I don’t think I would be ready for this.” After nine major-league seasons as an outfielder (2008-16) for the Padres, Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, Venable was hired by the Cubs in September 2017 as a special assistant to baseball operations. He moved to their big-league staff as first-base coach (2018-19) and third-base coach (2020). Venable spent two seasons (2021-22) as the Boston Red Sox bench coach and managed seven games in manager Alex Cora’s absence. He joined the Rangers staff in 2023, and they won the franchise’s first World Series title that season. “I have an underdog mentality and all the things that come with that, every step of the way my professional career,” Venable said. “I’ve been on teams that have had to work hard to overachieve, and that’s a mindset and mentality that I’m comfortable with. “I’ve seen that work at even the highest levels. In 2023 with Texas, I thought that’s what we did unbelievably, we had that underdog mentality and we had a bunch of really good players who were hungry. That’s how I’m comfortable operating, in that mode.” He takes over a Sox team coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons, including a modern MLB record 121 defeats in 2024. “I don’t think there’s one managerial job that is easy,” Venable said. “All these jobs come with their unique challenges, and I’m excited about the challenges that are presented here with this group.” Getz said it became very clear through the extensive search that Venable was “the right fit.” “I look forward to diving into this with him,” Getz said. “I view him as a tremendous partner. You’ve seen his resume and bio, but what really stands out for him is the person. He is someone that grew up in the game (his father, Max, is a former major-leaguer), played it himself, a two-sport athlete (basketball and baseball at Princeton), someone that when his days were finished as a player he jumped right into the front office and worked his way up the coaching ranks and worked under some tremendous potentially future Hall of Famers in Alex Cora and Bruce Bochy. “And now, to bring someone so talented and well coveted around the league to lead our organization is nothing short of outstanding and exciting for me and others in the organization.”