Ventura: It's right time to walk away as Chicago White Sox manager

When he was a third baseman from 1989-98, Robin Ventura was quite good at helping the Chicago White Sox win games with his bat and with his glove.

Unfortunately for Ventura, his success as White Sox manager never came close to matching the impact he made as a player.

So, after five years in the dugout, a 375-435 record and no playoff appearances, Ventura is out as Sox manager.

According to a source, bench coach Rick Renteria is going to replace Ventura. The Chicago Sun-Times first reported Renteria becoming the White Sox's next manager.

The Sox reportedly were open to Ventura returning as manager, but he decided to move on.

“I just feel it's the right time,” Ventura said after Sunday's season finale at U.S. Cellular Field, a 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins. “It's more of a personal decision than anything. I love being here. The organization means a lot to me.

“You can go as hard as you can and really the only thing you know is how you conduct your business and how you treat people. I'm good with that.”

Ventura just wasn't good at managing the White Sox to winning records, and it finally took a toll.

While he always seemed to be handed rosters with gaping holes, Ventura wasn't pointing any fingers while his voice cracked from time to time in his final meeting with the media.

“When you don't win, everybody looks at it that way,” Ventura said of not having enough talent to win. “But you go out and compete. We came up short and I feel like that falls on me.”

Everything seemed to fall on Ventura this season, starting in spring training when Adam LaRoche retired and vice president Kenny Williams stepped up and clashed with starting pitcher Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton.

In July, Sale and Ventura got into a heated argument after the left-hander balked at wearing throwback uniforms, which he cut up. While serving a five-game suspension for his bizarre behavior, Sale criticized Ventura for not being fully committed to winning.

After starting Sunday's final game, Sale said he got along with Ventura.

“I think a little too much emphasis gets put on that,” Sale said. “You can't really believe everything you read. You guys have had friends or bosses for five years. What did we have, a couple things that made it in the news? That doesn't mean I don't like him or he didn't like me. We always had the same goal, the same vision, the same passion.

“You get a bunch of guys in the same room and the testosterone is pumping. This is a competitive game; sports are competitive. Things happen, but that doesn't change what I think of him personally. He's as good as they get.”

Sale's teammates agreed.

“I want to thank Robin because since the first moment I've been here, he welcomed me and he supported me,” first baseman Jose Abreu said through a translator. “He's a nice guy, he's a good manager and has all my respect as a person and as a manager, too.”

“It feels like a sad ending to a season,” closer David Robertson said. “We all enjoyed Robin. We had a great time playing with him. It's his choice to step down. He's going to move on with the next chapter of his life, and it's the same for us.

“We're going to move on, try to get stronger in the off-season. Hopefully we can start like we did this year and continue to hold that momentum and level of play we had early in the season.”

The White Sox roared out to a 23-10 start this season and there was talk of Ventura landing a contract extensions. But the bottom quickly fell out, and the 49-year-old manager knew it was time to move on.

“It was personal, and when it's personal you make a decision,” Ventura said. “I enjoy this place, I love this place. At the end, it probably needs a new voice and I have to be big enough to understand that.”

Renteria is going to be the new voice, and he is expected to be named the White Sox's new manager Monday morning when general manager Rick Hahn meets the media.

“Awesome,” Sale said of Renteria. “Very well expected. Just a nice guy. Genuine, competitive. If you walked around this clubhouse he would have the respect of every single person in here. I don't know 100 percent if that's where we're going one way or another, but it wouldn't be a bad starting point.”