Will Venable Named 2026 AL Manager of the Year

By Nate Miller

Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images

November 10, 2026

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable has been named the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s 2026 AL Manager of the Year. The announcement came Tuesday evening by Larry Bowa on MLB Network. Tampa Bay Rays skipper Kevin Cash and Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy finished second and third, respectively.

All three individuals presented a strong case for this honor. Cash led the AL’s best team to the World Series, where the Rays lost in five games to the Milwaukee Brewers, and Tracy helped turn a rough season into a playoff appearance after replacing Alex Cora on April 25 as interim manager of the Red Sox.

Venable adds the hardware to his resume in his second season at the helm of the White Sox. His bunch entered 2026 with three straight 100-loss seasons, including a single-season Modern Era record of 121 setbacks in 2024. The White Sox tallied 102 losses during Venable’s debut effort in 2025, although they put up signs of improvement throughout a 28–37 record after the All-Star Break.

“This group in spring training developed a belief in each other,” Venable said during Tuesday’s award show. “Then they went out and did it.”

The White Sox made their 12th playoff appearance in franchise history and first since 2021. They sat atop the AL Central for 96 days. Venable became the third manager since 1901 to oversee a 19-plus-win improvement in back-to-back full seasons, joining Hall of Famers Miller Huggins of the 1925-27 New York Yankees (69 to 91 to 110) and John McGraw of the 1902-04 New York Giants (48 to 84 to 106).

A team identity was established by Venable in the 2025 campaign, as talked about by numerous players. It was about playing hard for all 27 outs in each game, keeping the focus on the game at hand, and playing for each other as much as with each other. The players took Venable’s idea and ran with it to success.