Chicago White Sox skipper Will Venable was named 2026 American League Manager of the Year after he guided the South Siders back to the playoffs following three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
Venable received 15 first-place votes to edge out runner-up Kevin Cash, while Chad Tracy finished third.
The 44-year-old is the first White Sox manager to claim the award since Ozzie Guillén in 2005 and the sixth winner in team history.
Chicago stumbled to a 60-102 record in Venerable's first year as Chicago's manager in 2025. However, he needed only one year to right the ship, with the White Sox going 84-78 in 2026 to finish second in the AL Central and earn the AL's No. 6 seed. They then beat the Houston Astros in the wild-card series before falling to the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS in five games.
Venable is the fourth manager to win Manager of the Year following a 100-loss campaign, joining the Baltimore Orioles' Frank Robinson in 1989, the Minnesota Twins' Paul Molitor in 2017, and the Miami Marlins' Don Mattingly in 2020.
Cleveland's Stephen Vogt, the two-time reigning winner of this award, finished fourth in voting, while the Yankees' Aaron Boone came in fifth. Joe Espada, dismissed by the Astros after the season ended, also received a third-place vote.
