Ryne Sandberg steps down as Philadelphia Phillies manager

Former Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced today that he was officially stepping down as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies after three seasons according to ESPN, allowing interim manager Pete Mackanin to take over.

Ryno ended his first big league stint as a manager with an 119-159 record after having some success within the Cubs organization. On December 5, 2006, he was announced as the skipper for the Class-A Peoria Chiefs and showed some serious potential after guiding them to the Midwest League championship game.

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Just two years after landing in Peoria, Illinois, Ryno was promoted to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies as he continued to climb the ranks along with a handful of his players.

His stay with the Smokies wouldn’t last long, receiving his third promotion since 2006, this time with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, Iowa where he earned himself 2010 Manager of the Year behind an impressive 82-62 record.

While the Cubs were in search of their next big league skipper, some expected Sandberg to be promoted yet again, finally getting the job he had been seeking since he started with the Chiefs. To our disappointment, the front-office decided to look elsewhere, which resulted in the Hall of Famer returning to the Phillies.

"“Managing a team is very challenging. I enjoyed the challenge. I enjoyed coming to the ballpark everyday. I had excellent work from my coaching staff. The goal was to get the most out of my players.” – Sandberg via ESPN"

Sandberg played for only two teams during his big league career – debuting for the Phils back in 1981 until he was acquired by Chicago in 1982 where he played center field for one season.

Not that Ryne is no longer with the Phillies, there’s no telling where he’s going to end up next. The fact that Chicago passed on him could mean he’ll never return to the city where he officially became a star, but things could eventually come around depending on the situation or however Theo Epstein decides to approach him.

There’s no doubt having him back home would be huge for this organization, even if it’s not to become the manager of this rising club considering how well Joe Maddon‘s handling the ship.

Still, with his experience, there’s always a possibility that he could find himself back in the driver’s seat sometime in the near future if or when another club decides to part ways with their struggling skipper.

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