PEORIA, Ill. – The passing of Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame baseball player Ryne Sandberg is reviving memories of when he led the Peoria Chiefs.
Sandberg died Monday after a battle with cancer at the age of 65.
He led the Chiefs in 2007 and 2008 as manager, winning 131 games and developing future All-Stars such as Josh Harrison and Josh Donaldson.
Rocky Vonachen was President when Sandberg managed in Peoria for those two seasons. He tells “The Phil Luciano Show” that he did not initially believe Sandberg was coming to the River City.
“Early December of 2006 at the Winter Meetings where Oneri Fleita, the Director of Minor Leagues, called me up and said ‘Hey, we’ve got a manager for you’,” Vonachen said. “I said, ‘Yeah, okay, who is it?’ And he said it’s Ryne Sandberg, and I said ‘Yeah, okay, who is it?’ ANd he said, ‘No, I’m serious, it’s Ryne Sandberg.’”
Sandberg won 131 games in 2007 and 2008 as Peoria’s manager, and helped develop future Major Leaguers, such as Josh Harrison and Josh Donaldson. Sandberg would eventually move on and lead the Philadelphia Phillies during his managerial career.
Vonachen says attendance at Chiefs games would increase with fans who wanted to see Sandberg in-person, especially with out-of-town fans coming in on the weekends. He says Sandberg was grateful for the fan support, and would spend time chatting with fans and signing autographs, especially for kids.
Recalling his time in Peoria, Vonachen says Sandberg was the type of manager who did what it took to be a great manager. He says that included having the backs of his players, helping set up for and throw batting practices, and riding the buses with the team.
Vonachen recalls that spirit was not just limited to the team, but to the Peoria community in general.
“He’d go to the Children’s Hospital, he’d go speak for the Rotary’s when I needed him, and the Kiwanis, and he put himself out there, and he didn’t have to,” Vonachen said.
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