Following Ozzie Guillen's sudden departure to Florida to manage the newly named Miami Marlins, the White Sox wasted little time in naming a replacement. Today it was announced that former White Sox third baseman Robin Ventura will be taking over as the Sox new manager. Ventura had rejoined the organization this past year as a special advisor to director of player development Buddy Bell, and is considered a bit of a surprising hire. While Ventura is perhaps best known for his failed attempt to charge the mound after getting hit by a pitch from Nolan Ryan back in 1993, he did have some other achievements on the baseball field.
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1) Ventura is widely regarded as one of the best collegiate baseball players EVER. A three-time All-American at Oklahoma State, Ventura still holds the Division I record for the longest hitting streak at 58 games. He left after his junior year finishing with a .428 batting average and 68 home runs and was inducted into the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
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2) Ventura was a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic Team that won Gold as he teamed up with future major leaguers Jim Abbott, Andy Benes, Tino Martinez, Ben McDonald, Mickey Morandini and Charles Nagy. The '88 squad defeated Puerto Rico 7-2 in the semifinals and Japan 5-3 in the Championship Game. Ventura hit .409 for the U.S.
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3) Ventura was drafted by the White Sox with the 10th overall pick in the 1988 draft, and was on the Big League roster by late 1989. He played until 2004 spending the bulk of his career in Chicago before moving on to play with the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers. He won 6 Gold Glove Awards as a third baseman, was named to two All-Star Teams (1992, 2002) and in 1995 become just the 8th player in Major League History to hit two Grand Slams in the same game. He finished his career with 18 slams, tied for 5th most All-Time.
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4) Speaking of Grand Slams, you might also recall Ventura's walkoff "Grand Slam Single" in the 1999 NLCS for the Mets. After hitting a would-be Grand Slam in the bottom of the 15th off of Braves reliever Kevin McGlinchy, Ventura was mobbed by his teammates around second base. As a result of his not reaching home plate, he was only awarded a single for his efforts in the box score.
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5) But really, if you only recall one thing about Robin Ventura, it should be this. Respect your elders! Note the cameo appearances by Bo Jackson, Ozzie Guillen, Jack "Black Jack" McDowell and Ivan Rodriguez among others.
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