CHICAGO _ Ventura confirmed Sunday he will not return for a sixth season as White Sox manager.
Ventura offered the news at a postgame news conference after a 6-3 loss to the Twins at U.S. Cellular Field.
Hired before the 2012 season, Ventura completes his managerial career with the Sox with a 375-435 record over five years. After a late collapse to miss the postseason in 2012, the Sox completed their fourth straight losing season and eighth straight year without the playoffs Sunday.
Before the game, Ventura said he wanted the focus on the final game at U.S. Cellular Field this year to be on the players, and so he put off talking about his job status until afterward. He is expected to be replaced by bench coach Rick Renteria at a news conference Monday.
Chris Sale, who was among the contenders in the American League Cy Young race, started the final game with a chance to boost his numbers, but he gave up five earned runs over five innings. Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier were both trying to reach 100 RBIs, and with a third-inning single to left-center field, Abreu hit the mark, becoming the seventh player in major-league history with 100 RBIs in each of his first three seasons.
Ventura said in his pregame media session that he wanted those storylines to stand out.
"Right now guys are still playing for stuff," Ventura said. "We've got guys that are close to 100 RBIs. Chris is in the Cy Young stuff. Today is important for them. Respect the purity of that, to be able to finish it in that way. I'll talk after about what's going on, but for right now, I think that stuff needs to be at the forefront and have everybody focus on that."
Sox outfielder Adam Eaton said before the game he hadn't heard officially about the status of Ventura or Renteria, but he again praised Ventura.
"(Ventura) is my manager today and that's how I have to look at it," Eaton said. "He has been awesome to me, and I think everybody in here would agree with that. I think I speak for everyone when I say that. Within the clubhouse and within these walls, he has been tremendous. Communication, instilling confidence in guys and at the same token, saying what needs to be said in certain instances, I think he had a great balance."
Ventura, the former third baseman who played 10 of his 16 seasons with the Sox, was hired before the 2012 season by executive vice president Ken Williams even though he had no managerial experience. The Sox gave Ventura an extension before the 2014 season, showing their support as the club looked to rebuild.
Each of Ventura's last two seasons were filled with disappointment after high offseason expectations.
The front office brought in a host of new players in the 2016 offseason, including Todd Frazier, Brett Lawrie, Austin Jackson, Jimmy Rollins and Mat Latos, to try to end the playoff drought. And buoyed by strong pitching, the retooled group created big expectations when it started 23-10 for first place in the division.
But over the course of a month, the Sox lost the lead, dropped below .500, designated Rollins and Latos for assignment and lost Jackson for the rest of the year to a knee injury. The rapid decline turned the tables on the talk about Ventura, from outside speculation about a possible contract extension if the Sox made the playoffs to increased calls for his job.
The Sox maintained hope they could put together a second-half surge, but it never materialized as they struggled to win games in the American League Central and finished the year 78-84.
Sox general manager Rick Hahn often declined to criticize Ventura to the media during the season and said earlier in the year he didn't feel it was his place to publicly question Ventura's in-game management, which sometimes under fire. He said it wouldn't help the team to speak of the issues publicly.
Hahn is expected to speak on Ventura and the team's managerial decision at Monday's news conference.
