Sandberg resigns from post as Phillies manager
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg has resigned from his post, the club announced Friday.
Sandberg, 55, ended up taking over as Phillies manager when Charlie Manuel stepped down in August of 2013 and was then named full-time manager before the season concluded. In parts of three seasons and 278 games as skipper, Sandberg has a 119-159 record.
“It’s not an easy decision,” Sandberg said. “In a lot of ways I’m old school and I’m very much dissatisfied with the record and not please at all with that. And I think that goes hand in hand with being the manager. So it’s been a difficult thing to swallow, but I have thought about it for some time and we’ve come to this day. But I do want to thank the Phillies and Ruben Amaro for giving me this opportunity to do this with the club that originally drafted me in 1978.”
In fairness to Sandberg, he was at the helm during a transitional phase, as the Phillies’ core of five NL East titles, two NL pennants and one World Series championship has aged. However, the Phillies plan to hire Andy MacPhail to lead their operations in the near future, CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman reported Wednesday, and Sandberg cited the upcoming restructuring during Friday’s press conference.
“With some leadership roles coming up I think it was important for me not to be in the way with the ways things have gone this year, but to allow the organization to go forward and really get this thing going,” Sandberg said. “But in the last three years in Philadelphia I have met some of the most passionate baseball fans on a daily basis that always gave me encouragement. They love their baseball and that was something I’ll never forget.”
Last Friday, Heyman reported that the Phillies were facing major changes to the top of the team’s hierarchy, which could include MacPhail and Sandberg as well as executive Pat Gillick and general manager Ruben Amaro. The organization has yet to announce any changes in the front office, but Sandberg’s departure is likely just the first domino to fall.
“I don’t know that Ryne should be feeling like he should shoulder all of the blame,” Amaro said Friday. “We do things as a team and as an organization. We win as an organization and we lose an organization. It’s really a team effort. I take my level of responsibility for the things that are happening on the field as well.”
The Phillies were a league-worst 26-48 through 74 games when the announcement was made. Third-base coach Pete Mackanin will serve as interim manager moving forward.
Ryne Sandberg is out in Philadelphia. (USATSI)
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