Former Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg has Died at 65 Years Old

Prior to the start of the 1982 season, the Philadelphia Phillies traded one of their top prospects, Ryne Sandberg, to the Chicago Cubs.

He was traded with Larry Bowa to Chicago in exchange for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. It turned out to be one of the best trades the Cubs ever made.

Ryne Sandberg’s Brief Phillies Stint

Sandberg only played in 13 games with Philadelphia, all during the 1981 season, but he would return to the organization first as a coach and then as the team's manager from 2013-2015, replacing Charlie Manuel. He went 119-159 in 278 games before resigning from the position.

He hit just .167 with one hit in six at-bats for the Phillies during the 1981 season before being dealt to Chicago, where he became one of the league's best second basemen.

Sandberg died on Monday after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer at the age of 65.

The 1984 MVP Year

He burst on the Major League scene in 1982 with the Cubs, winning National League Rookie of the Year, and by 1984, he was the Senior Circuit's best player, winning league MVP after hitting .314 with 19 home runs and a league-leading 19 triples and 114 runs scored.

He was a 10-time All-Star, finished in the Top 5 of the MVP voting three times, and won eight gold gloves. He would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and had his number 23 retired by the Cubs that same year.

The man he was traded with, played with and later managed with, Larry Bowa said "there are no words" on social media.

Overall, he finished with a .285 batting average and a record 282 home runs, 1061 RBI, 344 stolen bases, and 2,386 hits in 2,164 games.