Max Venable

William McKinley "Max" Venable, born on June 6, 1957, is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He attended Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California, and was a multi-sport star whose best sport at that stage was football, though he turned down football scholarships to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the Dodgers left him unprotected, the San Francisco Giants took him in the 1978 Rule 5 draft. He went on to play twelve seasons in Major League Baseball for the Giants, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds and California Angels, and played in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1992 and 1993. He later worked as a minor league coach and hitting instructor, including a stint with the SK Wyverns of the KBO League from 2013, and his sons Will Venable and Winston Venable also became professional athletes.