Brewers lose beloved member of coaching staff to struggling AL Central club

The White Sox's brand new manager, Will Venable announced that he was hiring Walker McKinven away from the Milwaukee Brewers as their bench coach. The Brewers have been pretty fortunate with the seamless transition to Pat Murphy's tenure as manager after Craig Counsell left. However, after already losing coach Quintin Berry this offseason, Milwaukee will have their work cut out for them in reloading their coaching staff yet again.

McKinven started on his road to the majors as a pitcher for the Georgia College Bobcats. The Illinois native threw 52.1 innings at the collegiate level and finished with a 5.85 ERA. At the age of 23, McKinven signed with the Worcester Tornadoes of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball. He struggled mightily as he went 1-6 with a 6.65 ERA.

Then, McKinven decided to explore the world of coaching after he realized his talents weren't going to allow him to reach the highest level as a player. That gambit has paid off as he continues to ascend the coaching ranks albeit not with the Brewers.

Brewers lose coach Walker McKinven to the White Sox

In 2016, the Brewers hired McKinven as a scout within their organization, and he served in that role for the next three years. The 35-year old climbed through the ranks of the Milwaukee coaching ladder and eventually was named the Brewers' run prevention coach for the 2023 season.

Preventing runs is exactly what the Brewers have done extremely well the past few years. In fact, according to Fangraphs, Milwaukee had the lowest ERA among National League teams with an impressive 3.69 ERA over that span.

McKinven's recipe for success is based around building a good rapport with his players and believing in their ability to succeed. The highly regarded catching guru has been credited in particular with helping William Contreras become the incredible catcher for Milwaukee that he is today.

Since 2023, the Venezuelan backstop is leading all National League catchers in batting average and home runs. Last week, he was awarded his second Silver Slugger award, which put a bow on an impressive 2024 campaign.

After finishing with the worst record in the MLB since 1962, the Chicago White Sox front office has decided to hire the admirable Walker McKinven. We can only imagine that he will continue to build major league athletes into prosperous players.

In the role of bench coach, McKinven will be tasked with providing advice and strategies for young players. His hands will certainly be full with this inexperienced White Sox roster. Some notable players that could benefit from his impact would be talented infielders, Jacob Amaya and Colson Montgomery. A coach that is able to reach youthful talent is unmatched in this day in age.

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