William McKinley "Max" Venable (born June 6, 1957) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. He played 12 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. Venable also played for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB), and coached for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a membe ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

Early years

Venable is the son of Molly and Max Venable. He went to Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California, where he was a multi-sport star. He excelled in all sports but, in high school, football was his best. He turned down football scholarships to sign with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Career

Major League Baseball

Although drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1976 amateur draft, the Dodgers left him unprotected. In 1978 the

took Venable in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. The Giants traded him to the

in 1984. Venable later played for the

, of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, and the

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. He also played two seasons in Japan, and , for the

He coached for the Atlanta Braves in the minor leagues, along with the San Diego Padres. He is a hitting instructor in the Seattle Mariners farm system to date.

SK Wyverns

Max signed with Korean Baseball team

as a hitting coach in 2013.

Personal life

Max married Mary “Molly” Cross in May 1982. The couple have two sons. Max's older son,

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, is a former Major League

and current manager for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. Will previously played

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. He joined his father as a member of the Portland Beavers in . Max's younger son Winston Venable is a former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

player for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and in college was a standout safety for the Boise State Broncos football team for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
1957 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball managers African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball people in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball coaches from Arizona Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Baseball players from Sacramento County, California Bellingham Dodgers players California Angels players Chiba Lotte Marines players Cincinnati Reds players Clinton Dodgers players Denver Zephyrs players Edmonton Trappers players Indianapolis Indians players Leones de Yucatán players Lodi Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders People from Rancho Cordova, California Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Shreveport Captains players SSG Landers coaches Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1950s-stub