Robin Ventura

Date of Birth: 7/14/1967
Birthplace: Santa Maria, California
College: Oklahoma State University

Robin Ventura had a distinguished major league playing career for sixteen years (1989-2004). Prior to being drafted by the Chicago White Sox, Ventura was a three time All-American baseball player at Oklahoma State University, ending with a .428 batting average and 302 RBIs. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1988, Ventura played on the US' gold medal winning Olympic baseball team, helping them achieve that medal with a batting average of .409.

Ventura began his professional baseball career in 1989, playing in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox. In September of that year, he was called up to the majors and he played third base for the White Sox through the 1998 season. While with the White Sox, Ventura won five Gold Gloves, including three consecutive wins from 1991 through 1993.

In 1999, while playing for the New York Mets, Ventura won his sixth Gold Glove award. After playing with the Mets for three years, Ventura moved to the American League and the New York Yankees. At the end of July, 2003, the Yankees traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who used him primarily as a bench player through the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Ventura's statistics in 16 years as a player include 2,079 games played, 1,006 runs, 1,885 hits, 338 doubles, 294 home runs, 1,182 RBIs, and a batting average of .267. His best year was in 1999 when he had 177 hits, 32 home runs and 120 RBIs.

Ventura's first post-playing position is his current one as manager of the Chicago White Sox. In 2012, his first year as manager, he led the White Sox to a second place finish in the AL Central division, just a few games behind the leading Detroit Tigers, with an 85-77 win-loss record and a .525 win percentage. The following year, however, the team finished in fifth place with a dismal 63-99 record. He led the team to a 73-89 record and a fourth place finish in the AL Central division in 2014.

The White Sox did only slightly better in 2015, finishing again in fourth place in the AL Central division, this time with 76 wins to 86 losses. They had almost the same record in 2016, finishing in fourth place with a 78-84 record.

On October 2, 2016, Ventura announced that he would not be returning to the White Sox in 2017. In his five years managing the White Sox, Ventura led the team to 375 wins to 435 losses.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Robin Ventura
Baseball Reference - Robin Ventura