Former Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg is now an ambassador for the Chicago Cubs, representing the organization at some corporate and public functions as well as interacting with fans for what has become the best team in baseball. 

While he is enjoying himself in the third phase of his professional baseball career, his stint as a major league manager didn't go as planned. After spending six years in the minors, moving up the ladder, the Hall-of-Fame second baseman got to see a whole other side of the game.

From the front office, general manager, scouting - Sandberg went from being a top level player to watching 18-year old kids trying to make it in the big leagues before making it all the way back to the big league running his own team as a manager.

After stops all over the minor league baseball map it was the team that drafted him in 1978, before being traded to Chicago where he became a Hall of Fame second baseman, the Phillies who named him as their manager in August of 2013 -- until he resigned last June with the Phillies sitting at 26-48.

"I was able to make it to the major leagues in a situation that wasn't the best in Philadelphia," Sandberg told 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis, where he was promoting an event with the Indianapolis Indians triple-A club.  "It was an aging team with diminished skills and a team that wanted to rebuild but none of the players could be moved at that time."

While his managerial career didn't go the way he had hoped, he did say he learned a lot about the game from a different point-of-view, making it all worth it - but doesn't see himself in a dugout anytime soon.

"As we speak, I dont think so," Sandberg admitted. "Spending six years in the minor leagues and reaching that goal of being a major league manager, was very worth while and it was somewhat of a journey."

Sandberg ended his major league managerial career with a 119-159 career record over parts of three seasons in Philadelphia.

 

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