Phillies hire Sandberg to manage triple A
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Phillies hire Sandberg to manage triple A
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
The Phillies have hired Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg to be their manager at triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2011.
Sandberg, originally drafted by the Phillies in 1978 and then infamously traded to Chicago with Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus, will finally make his return to the organization.
The 51-year-old former second baseman replaces Dave Huppert, who managed the Phillies' triple-A affilliate for the past three seasons.
Sandberg, who was first reported as a candidate by The Inquirer, spent the last four seasons as a manager in the Chicago Cubs farm system.
He had hoped to take over the Cubs managerial job but Chicago stuck with interim manager Mike Quade. Sandberg was looking for a major-league opening but instead chose the Phillies' minor-league vacancy.
In 2010, he managed at triple-A Iowa and was named the manager of the year in the Pacific Coast League.
"I really liked the way his team played," a National League scout said. "I liked the way they ran the bases."
Sandberg started his managerial career in 2007 with the Cubs' single-A Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. After two seasons with Peoria, he was promoted to double-A Tennessee of the Southern League.
The Phillies said in a statement they will announce the remainder of their player development staff at a later date.
Does this make him frontrunner for manager job when Chuck retires??— dennis14
coming back to the place he should have been his entire career!— birds748- Sandberg is a class act all the way. That he would return to the minors to manage speaks volumes about his work ethic. Phillies are lucky to have him in organization.— smel4727
- Can Sandberg play rightfield when Werth leaves?— Dr. Michael
- I'd be surprised if he wasn't hired away next year. Unless Charlie plans to retire, there's not much room for growth, and Sandberg's been down the road of waiting and seeing. He waited, and he saw the Cubs hire someone else.— B in DC
dennis14 - I would bet on it.....and I think he is too - good move for the Phillies- Great move! Always been a huge Ryno fan, I just wish he'd been a Phillie his whole career. Well, better late than never. Welcome back, Ryno!— FireTMac&Wheeler!
- If you remember, there was an article a couple weeks ago about how the Phillies had one of the oldest coaching staffs in Baseball. This is a big step to get quality young coaching in their ranks to move up when the chance occurs.
This is definitely not a bad signing at all.— Pat c - Dennis14 - agree... 2011 - getting reacclimated to Phillies organization; 2012 + could/should be the next skip...— M60tanker
- I look for Charlie to manage this coming year and, then, retire and assume a role as consultant to Ruben. He has had health problems over the years and the pressure to win has to take its toll.— Russ
It's about time he puts on a Phillies hat again. And while we're at it, let's sign Ferguson Jenkins as the new pitching coach, and Julio Franco would be a valuable addition in coaching the aging players on the team to be able to hang around and help out into their mid forties. Guess Larry Bowa goes to ESPN.- I think he manages AAA this year, Pete Mackanin gets a managerial job somewhere else next year, and Sandberg becomes Charlie's bench coach, and eventual replacement. Just a thought...— phillyfan85
- Seems like a great move. We now have two "younger" guys with blue-chip Major League credentials in the coaching fold, with Samuel and Sandberg. Smart.— eman
- Ryne Sandberg, merely reading his name conjures up unique and painful memories for me. I am feeling expansive right now. Ryne Sandberg...Ah how I remember the 80's...Ivan Dejesus, Charles Hudson, Jeff Stone, Ron Jones,Rick Schu, John Russell, John Wockenfuss, the Lance Parrish debacle,Kiko Garcia,Don Carman, Kevin Gross, Dave "Smoke" Stewart right before he became he greatest money pitcher of his time, Rocky Childress, Len Matuszek, Luis Aguayo,Gary Redus,Bruce Ruffin, Wally Ritchie, later-Pat Combs,Joe Cowley who couldn't throw a strike,Todd Frohwirth and the list goes on and on and on and on and on. For me there was one man who truly defined the ineptitude of the team in those years. One man so inept and unwatchable yet he spent a number of years as a starting player on those teams. One man, so awful that to this day the mere mention o his name compels me to reach for anti depressants...This man is the poster child for those Veterans Stadium,AstroTurf,Cold Pretzel after the game, lost another one, team can't hit, pitch, less interesting than watching one of those Veterans Stadium rats dry after it fell into the hot dog water you just ate your red hot with mustard from. Yes,one man was the true essence of those awful times. (yet they drew near 2 million almost every year put that in your pipe and smoke it Victorino). The man who defined the Failing,Futile Phillies of the mid to late 1980's was none other than number 15 on the scorecard but always did number 2 on the bed, Steve Jeltz. He couldn't hit. He could barely field. Naturally, he was the starting shortstop. Of course worse players have played longer and have caused more intestinal difficulties to fans, yet Steve Jeltz, still evokes memories of terrible baseball past. All the more reason for us to enjoy the current baseball renaissance in Philadelphia. Good things never last forever but, the horrofic nightmares and cold sweats caused by Steve Jeltz play will require medication for a lifetime.— derkaiser
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