It was just a matter if time. Ryne Sandberg took his name off the mess that has been the Phillies’ 2015 season by resigning as the team’s manger today. Pete Mackanin will serve as the team’s interim manager.
There has been much speculation in recent weeks with regard to Sandberg resigning or possibly being let go. The Phillies loss to Baltimore two weeks ago, when the team gave up 19 runs, contributed more gas on the fire and, ultimately, Sandberg felt it was best to leave now before it gets worse.
“I hate to lose, I hate to lose. I think that is the biggest thing that weighed on me,” an emotional Ryne Sandberg said during his press conference.
In Sandberg’s two seasons as manager, he did enough losing that it must have driven him insane. He never seemed to gel with veteran players and, although he did his best to rebuild a team that thrived under former manager Charlie Manuel, he never gained full support from Phillies fans, and many fans have been pressing for the firing of both he and General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
Mackanin is a former Phillies player and coach who is basically filling a void until the season is over. Then the Phillies management will most likely go looking for the skipper to lead the team for the next era of Phillies baseball. The Ryne Sandberg era ended much sooner than what most fan expected. Hopefully, the next era will be a step in the right direction.