Chicago White Sox Find New Bench Boss in Former Yankee, Met Robin Ventura

Chicago White Sox GM Ken Williams is putting his team in the sure hands of a former White Sox third baseman who won five Gold Gloves while playing the hot corner.

According to the Associated Press (h/t boston.com), Robin Ventura is the 17th former Sox player to become bench boss after being named manager today, replacing another man who held that same distinction in Ozzie Guillen.

Ventura was selected 10th overall by Chicago in the 1988 draft after setting a record by hitting safely in 58 straight games for Oklahoma State University. He came to the Big Apple after the 1998 season and helped comprise a Mets infield that Sports Illustrated coined the "infield of dreams."

Despite injuries to his knee and shoulder, Ventura powered the Mets to the NLCS in 1999 and the World Series in 2000, where they lost to the crosstown Yankees. Two years later, the clubs completed a deal that swapped Ventura for David Justice. Ventura once again found himself part of a stellar lineup, as every member of the Yankee infield made the 2002 All-Star team.

At the twilight of his career, Ventura was traded to Los Angeles. Ventura found himself contributing to a winning team once more, aiding the Dodgers to the 2004 NLDS. He would retire after the season due to an arthritic ankle, an injury so dire that it forced him to walk with a cane until a 2005 ankle transplant surgery.

Ventura takes the reins on a team that finished four games under .500 and have not made the playoffs since winning the AL Central in 2008.