
Ryne Sandberg is currently the manager of the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. He began paving his way into his managerial role by taking on a part as a spring training instructor for the Cubs for many years after his retirement.
Sandberg's first job as a manager was with the Peoria Chiefs, Class-A affiliate of the Cubs, in 2007. He had lobbied for the Cubs managerial position left vacant by Dusty Baker following the 2006 season, but Jim Hendry, Cubs General Manager, decided to go with Lou Piniella. His debut in the Midwest League was a successful one. The Chiefs knocked off the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 9-5 on a cold night in the Fox Valley to give Sandberg his first career managerial win.
Sandberg held the reigns as Peoria's Chief for two seasons. He definitely made an impression. It took Sandberg 11 years to get ejected from a game as a player. It took him just over a month to get tossed as Chiefs manager. To prove the first ejection wasn't a fluke, he was thrown out of 12 additional games during his tenure - a total of five times his first season and eight times his second. On top of that, he was suspended twice.
In 2009, Sandberg was promoted to the Double-A club, the Tennessee Smokies. In his only season in Kodak, Sandberg led the Smokies to the North Division second-half title. After knocking off the Huntsville Stars in the North Division playoffs, Sandberg and the Smokies advanced to the Southern League Championship Series, losing to the Jacksonville Suns three games to one.
Sandberg believes in discipline and expects his players to respect the game. He has no problems disciplining the team as a whole, including making them run sprints back and forth from foul pole to foul pole.
Sandberg was promoted to the Triple-A ball club in 2010 - just another step on the way to a job at the Major League level.
| 2007 Midwest League - Western Division - First Half | 2007 Midwest League - Western Division - Second Half | |||||||||
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beloit Snappers (Twins) | 44 | 26 | .629 | -- | Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals) | 40 | 30 | .571 | -- | |
| Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) | 41 | 26 | .612 | 1.5 | Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) | 40 | 30 | .571 | -- | |
| Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) | 38 | 31 | .551 | 5.5 | Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) | 40 | 30 | .571 | -- | |
| Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals) | 38 | 31 | .551 | 5.5 | Kane County Cougars (Athletics) | 39 | 31 | .557 | 1.0 | |
| Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) | 31 | 38 | .449 | 12.5 | Beloit Snappers (Twins) | 35 | 35 | .500 | 5.0 | |
| Burlington Bees (Royals) | 30 | 39 | .435 | 13.5 | Burlington Bees (Royals) | 31 | 38 | .449 | 8.5 | |
| Kane County Cougars (Athletics) | 24 | 45 | .348 | 19.5 | Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) | 31 | 39 | .443 | 9.0 | |
| Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) | 22 | 46 | .324 | 21.0 | Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) | 29 | 41 | .414 | 11.0 | |
| 2008 Midwest League - Western Division - First Half | 2008 Midwest League - Western Division - Second Half | |||||||||
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) | 41 | 26 | .612 | -- | Burlington Bees (Royals) | 43 | 26 | .623 | -- | |
| Kane County Cougars (Athletics) | 39 | 29 | .574 | 2.5 | Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) | 40 | 30 | .571 | 3.5 | |
| Beloit Snappers (Twins) | 36 | 32 | .529 | 5.5 | Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) | 37 | 33 | .529 | 6.5 | |
| Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals) | 33 | 31 | .516 | 6.5 | Beloit Snappers (Twins) | 35 | 35 | .500 | 8.5 | |
| Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) | 32 | 36 | .471 | 9.5 | Quad Cities River Bandits (Cardinals) | 35 | 35 | .500 | 8.5 | |
| Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) | 31 | 35 | .470 | 9.5 | Kane County Cougars (Athletics) | 33 | 37 | .471 | 10.5 | |
| Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) | 30 | 38 | .441 | 11.5 | Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) | 30 | 40 | .429 | 13.5 | |
| Burlington Bees (Royals) | 30 | 39 | .435 | 12.0 | Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) | 25 | 45 | .357 | 18.5 | |
| 2009 Southern League - North Division - First Half | 2009 Southern League - North Division - Second Half | |||||||||
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville Stars (Brewers) | 38 | 31 | .551 | -- | Tennessee Smokies (Cubs) | 39 | 31 | .557 | -- | |
| Carolina Mudcats (Reds) | 37 | 32 | .536 | 1.0 | Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers) | 35 | 35 | .500 | 4.0 | |
| Tennessee Smokies (Cubs) | 32 | 38 | .457 | 6.5 | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Mariners) | 35 | 35 | .500 | 4.0 | |
| Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers) | 30 | 40 | .429 | 8.0 | Carolina Mudcats (Reds) | 28 | 42 | .400 | 11.0 | |
| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Mariners) | 27 | 43 | .386 | 11.5 | Huntsville Stars (Brewers) | 25 | 44 | .362 | 13.5 | |






