McAdam: New hire for Red Sox illustrates how role of bench coach has changed

Like seemingly everything else in baseball, the role of bench coach is currently evolving.

When the position first became popularized some 20 or so years ago, the bench coach was seen as someone who could serve as an in-game guide and navigator for the manager. Picture a travel companion -- in the pre-GPS era -- on a long cross-country trek, sitting in the passenger seat,  offering directions, monitoring levels and suggestions for upcoming rest stops.

In a baseball sense, the job was to offer helpful reminders about who was due up the next inning for the opposition, prepare reserve players for pinch-hitting or pinch-running situations and analyze matchups while serving as a sounding board for the manager.

When Alex Cora was first hired by the Red Sox two years ago, Cora had only spent one season in the dugout, serving, ironically, as a bench coach. He had little experience running a game and balancing the innumerable decisions that have to made over the course of a given game.



Cora's first choice for the position was Dana LeVangie. Cora liked LeVangie's instincts and scouting acumen. But then-president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski rejected that request, arguing that Cora needed a more seasoned presence in the dugout, someone who had managed extensively and could help slow down the game for  a first-year manager.

Ron Roenicke, who had managed parts of five seasons in Milwaukee and countless seasons in the minors, was the veteran, calming presence brought in to help guide Cora through the choppy waters. He was, in retrospect, the perfect choice: experienced, steady and deferential, while not afraid to challenge Cora, having once served as his manager in the minor leagues.

But as Cora returns for a second stint with the Sox, both he and the position have grown. With two years of managing on his resume, Cora isn't in need of someone to hold his hand.

Instead, Cora needs someone to manage -- not the game itself, which Cora is doing, but rather, everything else: the incessant flow of information that comes from the analytics department, the day-to-day goings-on that occur hours before gametime, the coordination of schedules.

More than ever, it's an administrative position now. The bench coach is no longer wing man, but instead, more of coordinator.

Into that role steps Will Venable, who only a few weeks ago was being interviewed for the job that eventually went to Cora. A former two-sport athlete at Princeton, Venable is bright and engaging, accomplished at building relationships and transmitting information. Someone who has worked with Venable recently suggested that he's future managerial material, an assessment the Red Sox obviously shared.

It doesn't matter much that Venable hasn't run games before. After a nine-year playing career, Venable spent an off-season as a special assistant to Theo Epstein. He then spent two seasons as the Cubs' first base coach before moving to third base coach in 2020.

But his lack of dugout experience is inconsequential, as the job is changing.

Venable will be a human clearing house of information. He'll be providing data to others on the coaching staff. If Cora needs to know how many times in the last five days Matt Barnes has been up in the bullpen, it will be Venable's job to know.

Two aspects of the job will remain largely unchanged from past bench coaches. Venable will be tasked with running spring training -- organizing and scheduling drills and workout times, which players are to report to what fields, and assist Cora in scheduling which players will make upcoming road trips.

Also, Venable will be the conduit between Cora and the players. If Xander Bogaerts is being given a day off in three days, it will be Venable's duty to inform Bogaerts of that news. Conversely, it will be Venable who will be the sounding board. Players with questions about their usage or responsibilities can go through Venable, with knowledge that their concerns and issues will be relayed to the manager through a sort of baseball chain of command.

Of course, Venable will be encouraged to offer his viewpoint and commentary on the game as it unfolds. He can suggest a particular matchup that could work in the Sox' favor, or remind Cora of a move that could be a made in an inning or two. All input is welcome.

But that won't be his primary job description. Alex Cora doesn't need an assistant manager any more. He's more in need of administrative assistant.