Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg has been hired to manage the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
Sandberg, 51, had spent the last four years as a manager in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system and had hoped to land the team's major league vacancy that eventually went to interim skipper from a year ago, Mike Quade.
In his stints with Single-A Peoria (2007-08), Double-A Tennessee (2009) and Triple-A Iowa (2010), Sandberg led his clubs to two first-place finishes and amassed a managerial record of 284-277-1 (.505). Last year, in his first season with Iowa, he was named Manager of the Year in the Pacific Coast League after leading the Cubs to a tie for the best record in the Northern Division (82-62).
An original draft pick of the Phillies in 1978, Sandberg was dealt to the Cubs with Larry Bowa in 1982 for Ivan de Jesus. Sandberg went on to become one of the best second basemen in baseball history. A 10-time National League All- Star and a nine-time Gold Glove Award winner, he retired from the Cubs following the 1997 campaign after a 16-season big league career.
Sandberg ended his major league career with a .285 batting average. He also stroked 282 homers and knocked in 1,061 runs in 2,164 games.
He was the 1984 NL MVP and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
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