Three decades after regrettably trading a 21-year-old Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs the Phillies have hired the Hall of Famer to manage their Triple-A team.
Sandberg managed at Triple-A for the Cubs this season, but left the organization after finishing runner-up to Mike Quade in the team’s manager search and talked about wanting to land a big-league job instead of remaining in the minors any longer.
So, either Sandberg had a change of heart or the big-league coaching opportunities weren’t very plentiful.
Whatever the case, he’s back with the organization that drafted him way back in 1978 and Cubs fans are left wondering why Sandberg couldn’t have just stayed in Iowa if he was willing to continue managing at Triple-A.
Adding another layer of intrigue to the Cubs-to-Phillies move is that the man Sandberg was traded for, Ivan DeJesus, is now the third base coach on Quade’s staff in Chicago.
