Sandberg Named Chiefs Manager

[ChiefsVoice]

PEORIA, IL— The Chicago Cubs and Peoria Chiefs have announced that Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg will manage the Chiefs in 2007. The announcement comes on the second day of the Annual Winter Meetings in Orlando, FL as the Cubs gather with each of their minor league affiliates.

Sandberg, who entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2005, will make his managerial debut on Thursday April 5th when the Chiefs visit the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. His first home game at O’Brien Field will be on Friday April 13th at 7:00 PM when the Chiefs host the Burlington Bees.

“This is a great day in Peoria Chiefs history and a great day for baseball fans in Central Illinois,” said Chiefs longtime President Rocky Vonachen. “We are thrilled to welcome a Hall of Famer and a Cubs legend into the Chiefs family and we look forward to April and the reception Ryne will get from the great Chiefs and Cubs fans in the Peoria area.”

A 47-year old Washington native, Sandberg played for the Cubs from 1982-1994 and again from 1996-1997 after beginning his career with 13 games played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981. After playing third base for the Phillies, Sandberg was acquired by the Cubs on January 27, 1982 in exchange for Ivan Dejesus. In 1984, Sandberg won the NL MVP Award with a .314 average, 19 HR, 36 doubles, 19 triples and 84 RBI while leading the Cubs to within one game of their first World Series in 39 years. For his career, Sandberg played in 2164 games batting .285 with 282 HR, 1061 RBI and 403 doubles. He also won nine straight Gold Gloves from 1983-1991 and made the All-Star team each season from 1984-1993. During his career, Sandberg not only set MLB records for most consecutive chances and games at second base without an error, but also retired with more homers than any other second baseman in league history. He originally retired during the 1994 season but later came out of retirement and appeared in 150 games in 1996 and 135 more in 1997. His #23 jersey was retired by the Cubs at Wrigley Field in 2005.

Sandberg has never managed in professional baseball but was interviewed by Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry for the vacant Cubs position this offseason before the hiring of Lou Piniella. Sandberg has made three appearances in Peoria over the last two years since the Chiefs rejoined the Cubs organization. In January 2005, Sandberg helped sell out the Cubs Caravan at Expo Gardens and he returned for the sold out Caravan at the Riverplex in January 2006. Six weeks before his enshrinement at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, Sandberg was the featured guest on IPMR night at O’Brien Field for the Chiefs game June 18, 2005. As part of that event, Sandberg signed autographs for over an hour and his presence helped bring in a sellout crowd if 7503.

This marks the second straight season the Chiefs had had a former Cubs star as the Manager. Last season, first-year Manager Jody Davis led the Chiefs to a 75-64 record and a First Half Western Division Championship. Davis and Sandberg were teammates in Chicago from 1982-1988.

[ZMovieman]

Good for him!

[MustangMike]

what happend to Jody?

[mg420]

what happend to Jody?

promoted to daytona

[MustangMike]

what happend to Jody?

promoted to daytona

 

thank you

[Outshined_One]

Congrats to Ryno!

 

Hey, that'd be a really fun Q&A session to have! :D

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

[Mizzou]

Good for Ryno!

[mg420]

what happend to Jody?

promoted to daytona

 

thank you

 

no problem

[Balsa]

Hey nate, heard your interview on Cubscast! Great stuff! :D

[ChiefsVoice]

Thanks it was fun chatting on the record with my brother and his co-hosts (who I also went to High school with).

[Balsa]

Thanks it was fun chatting on the record with my brother and his co-hosts (who I also went to High school with).

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

 

I must have missed that part! Ha! That's great!

[dew1679666265]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

[wekse]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

 

hopefully 0%, after reading some of his columns on yahoo i don't want him anywhere near the cubs.

[dew1679666265]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

 

hopefully 0%, after reading some of his columns on yahoo i don't want him anywhere near the cubs.

 

Interesting. I hadn't read any of those. Judging purely from his playing days I figured he'd be a pretty good option.

[USSoccer]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

 

hopefully 0%, after reading some of his columns on yahoo i don't want him anywhere near the cubs.

 

Interesting. I hadn't read any of those. Judging purely from his playing days I figured he'd be a pretty good option.

 

He'd make a terrible major league manager. Seriously, I'm fully expecting him to do a very, very poor job, and I'd rather have had him scout or be a hitting/fielding coach than an actual manager of a team in our system. He's way too archaic and old-school for my tastes. His Yahoo.com writings look like Joe Morgan chats.

[Pickle]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

 

hopefully 0%, after reading some of his columns on yahoo i don't want him anywhere near the cubs.

 

Interesting. I hadn't read any of those. Judging purely from his playing days I figured he'd be a pretty good option.

 

He'd make a terrible major league manager. Seriously, I'm fully expecting him to do a very, very poor job, and I'd rather have had him scout or be a hitting/fielding coach than an actual manager of a team in our system. He's way too archaic and old-school for my tastes. His Yahoo.com writings look like Joe Morgan chats.

 

Yeah, I'm for someone with no baseball instincts whatsoever that just bases every decision on statistics. The ideal manager wouldn't even need to be in the dugout, really. He could just make phone calls from his mom's basement.

[Drew Doughty]

Carrie Muskat[/url]"]"It's something I've been thinking about quite a bit," he told the Chicago Sun-Times in October. "I'm at a stage in my life where that is something I want to do."

 

Sandberg has been a part-time coach for the Cubs during Spring Training, working with infielders on defense, as well as hitters.

 

"For me, the ideal situation is to manage the Cubs," Sandberg said. "That would obviously be the ultimate dream job for me."

 

What are the chances Ryno takes over after Sweet Lou retires?

 

hopefully 0%, after reading some of his columns on yahoo i don't want him anywhere near the cubs.

 

Interesting. I hadn't read any of those. Judging purely from his playing days I figured he'd be a pretty good option.

 

He'd make a terrible major league manager. Seriously, I'm fully expecting him to do a very, very poor job, and I'd rather have had him scout or be a hitting/fielding coach than an actual manager of a team in our system. He's way too archaic and old-school for my tastes. His Yahoo.com writings look like Joe Morgan chats.

 

Yeah, I'm for someone with no baseball instincts whatsoever that just bases every decision on statistics. The ideal manager wouldn't even need to be in the dugout, really. He could just make phone calls from his mom's basement.

 

I realize you're just using hyperbole to make your point -- but who here is suggesting anything like that? We don't want a guy who separates himself from the game, just a guy who isn't a complete moron when it comes to basic statistics. We dealt with that for 4 years with Dusty, and Sandberg comes across as a jackass in his Yahoo! articles. No thank you. Good for him that he's a minor league manager, but I'd much rather him be a hitting coach -- as has been suggested.

[USSoccer]

 

He'd make a terrible major league manager. Seriously, I'm fully expecting him to do a very, very poor job, and I'd rather have had him scout or be a hitting/fielding coach than an actual manager of a team in our system. He's way too archaic and old-school for my tastes. His Yahoo.com writings look like Joe Morgan chats.

 

Yeah, I'm for someone with no baseball instincts whatsoever that just bases every decision on statistics. The ideal manager wouldn't even need to be in the dugout, really. He could just make phone calls from his mom's basement.

 

I'm not sure what kind of point you're making, or what you're responding to, but rest assured I'm not saying any of that. I'm saying that based on what is known about Sandberg's baseball philosiphies, it seems that he's a poor fit to be a manager of a minor league team, and that he'd likely make a better instructor than manager.

[UK1679666180]

I think it's impossible to gauge a potential manager by what he does in media circles.

 

If he has a low common denominator for who he thinks will be reading the article, why wouldn't he dumb it up?

 

Heck, most of the people who come up to him probably ask dumb questions and ask for something to be signed.

[USSoccer]

I think it's impossible to gauge a potential manager by what he does in media circles.

 

If he has a low common denominator for who he thinks will be reading the article, why wouldn't he dumb it up?

 

Heck, most of the people who come up to him probably ask dumb questions and ask for something to be signed.

 

Many of his columns contained insights to his biases and ideas about the right way to play the game. It's not like he was a beat reporter. He was a columnist giving his opinions, and those opinions are sure to influence his managing style.

[UK1679666180]

Ever listen to Larry Dierker or Hershiser call a game, they're very similar to Joe Morgan, not as bad, but cut from the same mold as is every potential manager/announcer.

 

It doesn't tell me anything abdout how he'll be at Peoria, personally I don't care how well he game manages down in Peoria. Player development is all I'm concerned with.

[jacey]

Any ideas who his coaching staff will be?

[NCCubFan]

That had already been announced before Sandberg was named manager. Kevin Green will be the hitting coach and David Rosario the pitching coach, both moving up from Boise.