Hall of Famer takes over Cubs' Single-A ballclub

CHICAGO (AP) -- Ryne Sandberg's in the Hall of Fame. Now he's ready to embark on another journey in baseball as minor league manager.

"I haven't ridden a bus in quite a while. I'm totally up for it. It's all part of it, part of the fun," Sandberg, the former Chicago Cubs' star said Tuesday when he was named manager of the team's Class A farm team at Peoria of the Midwest League.

"I just look at it as a great opportunity to help the Cubs and work with their prospects. I will learn along the way and they will learn. And I think we will all have fun doing it and also win some games along the way."

It will be Sandberg's first managerial assignment and he hopes it will some day lead to one in the major leagues. He's been working with the Cubs in training as a special instructor since 1999.

"For me it's the start of what I need to do to prepare myself, prove myself that I could one day be a major league manager," he said.

"I've been thinking, `Wow, I could be contributing more, I want to contribute more, I want to be more a part of it, more a part of the game.' This is the first step in achieving it."

Sandberg, 47, retired from the Cubs the first time after the 1994 season, sat out 1995 and then returned for two seasons. He retired for good in 1997 after a 16-year major league career. A 10-time National League All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner, the second baseman was the National League's MVP in 1984. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005, and his No. 23 was retired that season.

The native of Spokane, Wash. started his Major League career in 1981 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was traded before the 1982 season to the Cubs.

Sandberg finished his career with a lifetime .285 batting average. He had 282 home runs, 2,386 hits, 1,061 RBIs in 2,164 games.

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