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Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Hall of Fame after a stupendous career with the Chicago Cubs, but he actually broke in with the Phillies when he was a young buck middle infielder, traded to the North Side along with Larry Bowa back in the day. As Philly.com writer Bob Brookover explains, the Phillies' new third baseman is going through a bit of a homecoming after spending the last six seasons coaching and managing in the minor leagues:
"What Sandberg will not be doing next season is thinking about replacing Charlie Manuel as the next manager of the Phillies. That's a role that many believe he will assume, perhaps as soon as the 2014 season, and it would make for a terrific story since it was the Cubs who passed on him as their next manager a couple of times in recent seasons.
"'First of all, there are no guarantees in baseball,' Sandberg said. 'I'm a guy who stays focused with my job. That's always how I handled things as a player and as a minor-league manager. I know what my job is next year as a third-base coach and infield instructor and that's what I will focus on. I'm real pleased about being in the capacity I'm in with the Phillies and I don't look any further than that.'"
The full story outlines the amusing, roundabout way Sandberg went from Phillies to Cubs to back to Phillies again, and is worth your full attention.