Former Chicago Cubs manager Rick Renteria, who until yesterday was the bench coach at the White Sox this season, has been named the new manager of the Chicago White Sox.
Rick Renteria becomes the 40th manager in @WhiteSox history and the only current Latino manager in all of @MLB. pic.twitter.com/REmJYLkN9h
— Baseball Tonight (@BBTN) October 3, 2016
Renteria takes over from Robin Ventura, who decided not to return to the club next season. Only one other manager in MLB history has ever managed both Chicago teams.
If the #WhiteSox do hire Rick Renteria, he'll join Hall of Famer Johnny Evers as the second man to manage on both sides of Chicago.
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) October 3, 2016
Born in Harbor City, California, to a Mexican-American family, Renteria entered the major leagues in 1986, debuting as an infielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would eventually go on to play for the Seattle Mariners and the Florida Marlins as well. Interestingly, his career included stints in Canada (with the Calgary Cannons) and in Mexico (with the Jalisco Charros). He began his coaching career after retirement in 1998, managing minor league teams in the Marlins organization. Besides managing the Cubs in 2014, Renteria was also the manager for Mexico in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
.@loswhitesox amanecen nuevo capataz. Nuestro dirigente en el WBC 2013, Rick Rentería. ¡Felicitaciones!
DETALLES: https://t.co/ayiejPPyiM pic.twitter.com/FRvnVaBajr— MLB Mexico (@MLB_Mexico) October 3, 2016
The White Sox finished 78-84 in the 2016 MLB season, fourth in the American League Central division. No team in MLB this season has featured a Hispanic manager since Fredi Gonzalez was fired from the top post of the Atlanta Braves in May.
And the Rick Renteria Era begins... #WhiteSoxTalk pic.twitter.com/SyRDeVsAnU
— Siera Santos (@SieraSantos) October 3, 2016