That’s a part of the reason why the 2026 White Sox ; they have yet to see a losing streak go longer than four games this season. Venable’s messaging to his team has produced a group that, despite one of the most dramatic two-year turnarounds in sports history and poised to be a playoff team with just over 30 games left to play, looks ready for postseason pressure.
“Unbelievable human being to spend every single day with,” bench coach Walker McKinven said of Venable. “That makes it fun, and that makes it easy to promote a good working environment for not only me but everyone here — players, coaches, support staff — and Will’s energy and Will’s demeanor just kind of trickles out to the entire organization, really.”
Thanks in part to the mindset and approach that Venable has brought to the Sox, they are well-positioned to win a division title. Reaching the playoffs is not a certainty at this point, but going into Sunday’s game, they had an over 72 percent chance,
“It replicates playoff games pretty well with how close they are and how late they are,” Sam Antonacci said. “Being able to have a bunch of those under our belt if we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, that’s one of our goals. Just hit the ground running.”
The Venable mentality when it comes to responding to pressure does seem to have trickled down throughout the organization. Peters, who has been a key part of multiple Sox walk-offs this season, said he doesn’t feel the strain of coming up to bat in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game.
Why not? Because it’s the kind of thing players dream up in their back yards when they’re kids, and he chooses instead to embrace the fun in those kinds of moments.
Same with Grant Taylor, who has increasingly been called upon to pitch some of the most high-leverage, high-pressure innings, including the top of the ninth on Sunday. Though he couldn’t hold the 1-0 lead, Taylor pitched through a jam and avoided letting the Mets get ahead.
“I enjoy it,” he told CHGO. “I think it’s fine. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of added pressure to certain situations because that’s typically what I throw in every time. It’s kind of just pitching and having fun. It’s not a bad gig, you get to go pitch in in a big league baseball game. I just try and enjoy it.”
In the end, what will probably work for the Sox in the playoffs is continuing to lean on what’s gotten them this far. They’re in first place in their division and a possible two-seed in the playoffs this late in August in part because the Venable-inspired even-keel approach has the Sox prepared to handle the growing pressure that will come with reaching the postseason.
Between now and then, don’t look for anything to change about how Venable’s team plays, either.
“We’re absolutely not trying to reinvent the wheel here just because there’s 30 something games left and we’re in a desirable position,” McKinven said. “We [are] process oriented. Take it day by day […] We are treating each game on its own. Small eye on the week ahead with those things and planning things out, but we’re trying to win today, win tonight, every single day with what we have available to us, and and we’re going to keep doing that through the next month and a half until hopefully we’re playing more games.”
