The Cubs are hoping that Hall of Fame second baseman RyneSandberg eventually ends up managing in the big leagues, even if it's not in Chicago. After coming to Chicago from the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1981 season, Sandberg played the rest of his big-league career with the Cubs, retiring in 1997. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sandberg's managerial star has been on the rise since he became the skipper of the Cubs' Class-A Peoria Chiefs in 2007. He was promoted to Class Double-A in 2008, became the manager of the Triple-A Iowa Cubs in 2009 and was named the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year in 2010.
The Cubs have a number of players on the roster that came up through the ranks with Sandberg as their manager, and all are confident that he will get his shot at the big leagues sooner than later, according to CSN Chicago.
"Any time you have a Hall of Fame guy as your manager," pitcher Jeff Samardzija said, "it's going to be a good situation, especially a guy like Ryno, a good communicator who can talk to his players. When it's coming from that background, you usually take it to heart.
"He was always the same guy, win or loss. He competed. He cared. He was a great dude."
When Cubs interim manager Mike Quade was fired by new general manager Theo Epstein in late 2010 and the team said they wanted a manager with big-league managing experience, Sandberg left the organization to manage the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
With Phillies manager Charlie Manuel likely nearing the end of his career, some expect Sandberg to get his shot at the Philadelphia job. His former players in the Cubs organization seem convinced he's more than ready for the step up.
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