Robin Ventura

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Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional baseball third baseman and boss.

Ventura played 16 seasons for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball (MLB).

He was also the White Sox's general manager for five seasons.

Ventura was selected by the White Sox with the tenth overall pick in the 1988 amateur draft from Oklahoma State University (OSU).

He is a six-time Gold Glove winner, two-time MLB All-Star selection, and a National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee. Ventura was a three-time All-American who authored a Division I-record hitting streak while playing college baseball for the Cowboys at OSU.

He earned the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award in 1988 and competed for the gold medal-winning Olympic baseball team.

He made 18 grand slams in his MLB career, ranking fifth all-time.

Ventura won the game but did not actually become a home run in Game 5 of the 1999 National League Championship Series, but he was unable to complete the circuit around the base paths.

Later in his playing career, cartilage and arthritis problems in his ankle hindered his work in the field.

The White Sox recruited him to be their boss after the 2011 season, making him the 17th former White Sox player to lead the team.

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Amateur career

John and Darlene Ventura, a native of Italy and Portugal, were born in Santa Maria, California, on July 14, 1967. Ventura was a 3-time All-American at Oklahoma State University after attending Righetti High School in Orcutt, California.

In 69 games as a freshman in 1986, he led the nation in runs (107), RBI (96), and total bases (204). He had an NCAA-record 58-game streak in 1987, breaking the previous record of 47; he also led Division I in RBIs for two years in a row. His hitting streak remains his longest in Division I, though Damian Costantino of Division III Salve Regina University's 2003 record of 60 games in a row is his highest figure.

Ventura helped OSU reach the finals of the 1987 College World Series, although the Stanford University team lost the championship game to a Stanford University team featuring future teammate Jack McDowell. In the final game, Ventura took four hits, including a pair of doubles, and batted.364 for the series. He was a member of the Hyannis Mets in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) this summer, hitting.370 and leading the league in runs batted in with 37 runs. Ventura was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame on January 19, 2002, as a member of the 2001 Class of 2001. Ventura returned to Oklahoma State to complete his degree and works as a student assistant coach for the baseball team in January 2020.

He earned a spot on the gold medal-winning Olympic baseball team in 1988, batting.409 throughout the tournament. He received both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy for outstanding college play, capping his 3-year OSU career with a.428 batting average, a.792 slugging percentage, and 302 RBI. Ventura was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural class on July 4, 2006.

Professional career

Ventura spent much of 1989 at AA Birmingham before joining the White Sox in September after being ranked tenth in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft by the White Sox. While in Birmingham, he earned a spot in the Southern League All-Star Game and was named league's best defensive third baseman. He was voted to the 1990 Topps All-Star Rookie Roster and spent his third base with the White Sox in the spring. Despite a rough start to his 1990 rookie season as a result of an 0-for-41 slump and 25 mistakes, Ozzie Guillén's 123 hits were the most by a White Sox rookie since 1985; he also led AL rookies with 150 games played. He earned his first Gold Glove Award for fielding excellence, set a new record for RBI at third base, and led the AL in putouts. Ventura won another Gold Glove and earned a spot on the All-Star team in 1992.

Ventura's batting average dropped 20 points to.262 in 1993, but his slugging and on-base percentages increased marginally. He earned his third straight Gold Glove in May, his third straight Gold Glove, and became the first AL third baseman to do three straight 90-RBI campaigns since Graig Nettles (1975–78). Ventura was struck by a pitch from Nolan Ryan during a game against the Texas Rangers on August 4, 1993. Ventura charged the mound, where Ryan, 20 years in Ventura, placed Ventura's senior, in a lockout and punched him six times, sparking a bench-clearing brawl. By ESPN's SportsCenter, this brawl of all time was voted the best baseball brawl of all time. During the 2009 season, the White Sox captured the AL West, resulting in Ventura's first playoff trip while in Chicago. In the ALCS, the Toronto Blue Jays will be unable to play.

Ventura made ten errors in the first ten games when playing resumed in 1995 following the 1994 earthquake. In the midst of trade rumors, he spent time at first base this year, but the year came with a.295 average and first since Frank Robinson in 1970. He won his fourth Gold Glove, hit new heights in fielding percentage, home runs, and RBIs, as well as setting a new record in career homers (142) and grand slams (9).

Many people were selected to win their division when spring training began in 1997. Ventura slid into home plate and sank his foot into the mud in a spring training game at Ed Smith Stadium, suffering a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle. He would be out for the season, according to his first forecast. Ventura was able to return on July 24, more than a week ahead of the most optimistic forecasts. He had the game-winning hit the night before and was home in his first at-bat the next evening. The White Sox did not make the playoffs in large part due to the "White Flag Trade."

Ventura's last season with the Sox in 1998, he captured his fifth Gold Glove, but only in 1998. His homer and RBI numbers were close to his career's averages, but the White Sox attempted to trade him repeatedly and refused to renew his deal, with owner Jerry Reinsdorf claiming that he was "deteriorating."

Ventura left Chicago in December 1998 after the New York Mets signed him to a four-year contract. Ventura's first year in New York was.301 with 32 home runs, 120 RBI, and just nine errors. He became the first player (and, as of the 2019 MLB season, the only player) to reach a grand slam in both games of a doubleheader on May 20. On the front page of Sports Illustrated in 1999, Edgardo Alfonzo, Rey Ordóz, and John Olerud were among the "Best Infield Ever" cover stars. Ventura sustained his left knee injury in August, but the problem had gotten worse until the postseason; it had already occurred to torn cartilage. Since the Mets invited her to a game right before the playoffs, he borrowed the phrase "Mojo Risin" from "L.A. People" and made it the Mets' rally cry.

Despite his injury, Ventura provided the Mets with the game-winning, bases-loaded, two-out single in the eleventh inning against the Pirates on the final weekend of the regular season, propelling the Mets back to the National League Wild Card chase. In Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, with the Atlanta Braves up 3-2 in the fifteenth innings, a bases-loaded walk to Todd Pratt prompted in the tying run, and Ventura was called to the plate. Ventura Field was turned right-center field by a home run. Pratt, on the other hand, did not see the ball leave the park and ran back to first base, throwing Ventura into the air and lugging him off the field before he could round the bases. The hit was officially scored an RBI single and is often described as the "Grand Slam Single." The Mets eventually lost the series. He won his first NL Gold Glove in the fall, raising his total number to six.

He was.232 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 2000, but he was still recovering from off-season injury to both his knee and right shoulder. He spent part of July on the disabled list with inflammation in his resurfaced shoulder, and was plagued with mistakes, but he regained control in the last two weeks of the season, hitting.320 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He had his only World Series home run against the Yankees' Orlando Hernández when the Mets reached the World Series. He batted.237 with 21 home runs and 61 RBI in 2001.

David Justice, the Mets' catcher, traded Ventura to the Yankees at the end of the season. Ventura batted.247 with 27 home runs and 93 RBI in 2002, the eighth time he surpassed 90 RBI. He and all other members of the Yankees infield were selected to his second and final All-Star team. Ventura had the lowest fielding percentage of all third basemen in the major leagues at.99 percent in 2001. The Yankees lost the Division Series, where Ventura hit.286 with four RBI. He was platooned at third base with Todd Zeile, another former Met. Ventura's first few months of the year were difficult; by late July, he had earned nine home runs and 42 RBI. With 23 runs, he tied Shea Hillenbrand for the major league lead in errors by a third baseman.

Ventura was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Bubba Crosby and Scott Proctor on July 31, 2003. He played in Atlanta on August 3, his first home run as a Dodgers fan. He spent the majority of the season on the bench.

Ventura, who had been re-signed by the Dodgers in December, had a chance to be the Dodgers' starting first baseman during spring training, but that changed during the last week. This caused a domino effect that resulted in Ventura being reduced to a bench seat as a backup infielder and pinch hitter. In his second game of the season against the San Diego Padres, he had a game-winning RBI. He only had five home runs this season, two of which were pinch-hit game-winning home runs against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres on August 17. On September 7, the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Mets for his 17th grand slam and his 18th grand slam in his career. Ventura made his pitching debut against the Anaheim Angels on June 25, allowing a single out of three fly ball outs. The Dodgers made it to the NLDS but lost in four games. The Dodgers were 10-0 in games in which he had a home run. Ventura's right ankle arthritis forced him to miss the season.

Post-playing career

Ventura's 1997 ankle fracture, as well as his leg muscles, which began to atrophy after the crash. Ventura's decision to withdraw from baseball was due to his full fitness in his leg, as well as the constant pain in his ankle and leg. Ventura limped badly after retirement and was forced to walk with a cane frequently. Ventura underwent an ankle allograft on November 18, 2005. He now walks without pain and without a limp after the surgery and recovery.

On September 28, 2008, he returned to Shea Stadium for the final game with ex-teammates Edgardo Alfonzo, John Franco, Todd Zeile, and Mike Piazza.

Ventura's first year on the ballot was in 2010, when he received just 1.3% of the votes, but he failed to reach the 5.5 percent threshold to remain on the ballot. The Expansion Era Committee will determine the next year for Hall of Fame in 2023.

Ventura returned to Oklahoma State in January 2020 to complete his education and serve as a student assistant coach for the baseball team.

Ventura's current manager, Don Cooper, was appointed the 39th manager for the Chicago White Sox on October 6, 2011, after taking over from Ozzie Guillén for two games. Ventura was the 17th former White Sox player to head the team. The White Sox finished 85-77, three games behind the AL Central champion Detroit Tigers, in their first season as their manager. Ventura's first firing as a manager came on May 30, 2012, when umpire Mark Wegner yelled him out while protesting Wegner's dismissal of White Sox pitcher José Quintana. Ventura was a finalist to be named American League Manager of the Year, a distinction that was ultimately presented to Oakland Athletics boss Bob Melvin.

Ventura resigned after four consecutive losing seasons.

Ventura has contributed to the College World Series with color commentary. He appeared on ESPN as a color commentator for the Little League Southwest Region Finals on ESPN with Carter Blackburn in 2010. Ventura has also appeared on ESPNU as an anchor on occasion.

Career rankings

Third basemen with most 90-RBI seasons

Note: Schmidt had one 90-RBI season as a first baseman, and Jones had two 90-RBI seasons as a left fielder.

(Minimum 1500 games at 3B) — the third baseman with the highest slugging average in his career (Minimum 1500 games at 3B)

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