Venable received 15 first-place votes, narrowly ahead of Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, who drew 12. He won the award by a 13-point margin over Cash, with Cleveland's Stephen Vogt and the New York Yankees' Aaron Boone rounding out the top five. Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy was also a finalist.

The honor makes Venable the first White Sox manager to win the award since Ozzie Guillen in 2005 — the same season Guillen led the franchise to its first World Series title in 88 years. The symmetry is not lost on a South Side fan base that has endured years of rebuilding and frustration.

Venable's 2026 club improved its win total by 24 games over the previous season and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2021. The White Sox then defeated the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series, securing the franchise's first playoff series win since that 2005 championship run.

In two seasons at the helm, Venable has compiled a 144-180 record, a mark that reflects the deep hole the organization was in when he took over and the steep climb back toward contention.

The award is decided by voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and the tight margin over Cash — a respected skipper in his own right — underscores how competitive the American League field was this season.

For a city that has watched its baseball fortunes ebb in recent years, the recognition offers more than a trophy. It signals that the White Sox's patient, development-focused approach under Venable is producing results at the major-league level, and it gives a long-suffering fan base a reason to believe the turnaround is built to last.