Ryne Sandberg has been named Baseball America’s 2011 Minor League Manager of the Year for his work with the Phillies AAA affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Irongpigs. Sandberg led the Ironpigs to within two games of the International League Championship, which is impressive considering that the franchise had never been above .500 before he arrived.
↵“It’s a great honor, and it speaks volumes to what we did as a team,” said Sandberg. “I had a fine staff with Rod and Sal (pitching coach Rod Nichols and hitting coach Sal Rende), and the players played hard throughout the season. For me, this is just icing on the cake for what we did this season.”
↵Ryno will be back in the dugout with the Ironpigs against this season, but still has his sights set on managing in the big leagues one day.
↵“I feel I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the job,” Sandberg said. “This is my second year at Triple-A, and I’m very respectful of the process. There’s a lot of baseball men out there, doing the same thing, and I’m very respectful of that. If someone feels it’s time for me to go the big leagues, I’m all for it. But if not, I’m right back here next year, doing the same thing.”