Will Venable

Subsequently, the Padres drafted him in the seventh round (215th overall); he was signed by the Padres' Northeast Scouting Director, Jim Bretz.

William Dion Venable (born October 29, 1982) is an American professional baseball coach and former player.

He is the associate manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He played in MLB as an outfielder for the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, and he was a coach for the Chicago Cubs.

He is the son of former MLB outfielder Max Venable and is the older brother of former National Football League player Winston Venable.

Venable played college basketball for Princeton, where he was the second athlete to earn first-team All-Ivy League honors in both baseball and basketball.

Venable was born in 1982 in Greenbrae in Marin County, California, at a time when his father Max Venable was an MLB player for the nearby San Francisco Giants.

He grew up travelling around the country with his father and also lived in Japan and the Dominican Republic.

In high school, he envisioned himself as more likely to be a professional basketball player than baseball player.

Prior to his freshman year, his mother, Molly, objected to him quitting baseball to focus on basketball.

As both a high school sophomore and a high school junior, Venable was second-team San Francisco Bay Area All-Metro basketball player for San Rafael High School.

He was the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) most valuable player in basketball as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

As a sophomore, he led his team to the MCAL League Championship.

As a senior, he gave up the responsibility of being point forward.

Venable chose to attend Princeton University, not for its academics, but for its tradition of basketball excellence.

He respected their tradition of qualifying to participate in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament.

In basketball, he averaged over 10 points and over 30 minutes per game in his 2002–03 sophomore season through his 2004–05 senior season.

Bradley had left the door open for Venable to come take batting practice if he ever had the urge.

As a sophomore, at the suggestion of his mother, Venable resumed baseball.

During his time at the University he was a part of two teams that qualified for post season play: 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and 2002 National Invitation Tournament). Princeton recruited him as a basketball player. He did not play baseball as a freshman, but his father had directed him to Scott Bradley, Princeton's baseball coach, during his recruiting visit.

He posted modest numbers in his first season, but in 2004, he hit for a .344 batting average, earned All-Ivy honorable mention, and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round of the draft (439th overall).

Bradley felt that Major League Baseball scouts undervalued Venable because he did not participate in the Cape Cod League for college baseball players.

Thus, instead of signing and giving up his amateur status, Venable returned for his senior season and posted a league leading 9 home runs and runner-up .385 batting average while earning All-League honors.

In the 2005 MLB Draft, the Padres selected Venable in the seventh round; he made his major league debut in 2008.

Although he broke into MLB as a center fielder, he played mostly as a right fielder after his second season.

He finished among the top 10 in the National League in triples four times and in stolen bases twice.

He has the most MLB career hits and home runs of any Princeton alumnus.

Venable, who was a member of the class of 2005 at Princeton University, was the second athlete in Ivy League history (after his Padres teammate Chris Young) to be first-team All-Ivy in both basketball and baseball and he played on Ivy League Champion National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship tournament participants in both sports.

He played in two NCAA Championship tournaments in both sports and earned a B.A. in anthropology.

After graduating from Princeton, Venable made his professional debut in minor league baseball with the Arizona League Padres of the Arizona League in 2005.

He hit for a .322 batting average in 15 games and was soon promoted to the Eugene Emeralds of the Single-A Northwest League.

In 2006, Venable was the Padres Minor League Player of the Year.

With his father as a team hitting coach, Venable posted a .314 batting average, .389 on-base percentage (OBP), and .477 slugging percentage for the Fort Wayne Wizards of the single-A Midwest League (MWL), which earned him both mid-season and post-season MWL All-star honors.

That season he tied for the MWL lead in runs scored and was among the top four Padre farmhands in RBIs, batting average, and stolen bases.

Among his highlights for the Wizards were his team-high two grand slams and a five-hit performance.

Subsequently, for the 2006 West Oahu CaneFires of the Hawaii Winter Baseball, Venable posted a .330 batting average, .390 on-base percentage (OBP), and .473 slugging percentage.

He won the batting title that season and was named league most valuable player.

He also led the league in doubles and was second to John Otness in OBP.

In the outfield, Venable made no errors.

Before the 2007 season, Venable was listed as the fifth best prospect in the Padres organization by Baseball America, and they named him the #11 prospect in the league.