Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg may not have had the ideal relationship with players during his 278-game stint as the 52nd manager of Philadelphia Phillies' franchise history.
Tuesday afternoon's announcement made certain that Sandberg's successor at the position, Pete Mackanin, will remain in red pinstripes through next season, and possibly the year after that as well if the club option is exercised.
When Sandberg resigned on June 26, prior to a Friday evening matchup against 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and the division-rival Washington Nationals, everyone within the organization was left surprised, including his long-time friend and former teammate, Larry Bowa.
“It caught me 100 percent off guard,” Bowa told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com on July 16, a few weeks removed from Sandberg's departure.
“I didn’t want it to end like that for him. He never hinted he was going to walk away. It was like a bombshell for me.”
Later in the interview, Bowa alluded that Sandberg's confrontation with Phillies' closer Ken Giles, who at the time was the team's set-up man behind Jonathan Papelbon, was the 'straw that broken the camel’s back.'
This incident occurred on June 12 when Giles was pitching in the eighth inning of a scoreless game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Giles had allowed a two-out single to third baseman Josh Harrison, and on the same play he committed a throwing error that allowed the 2014 National League All-Star to advance into scoring position.
The next batter, Sandberg ordered from the dugout for Giles to intentionally walk first baseman Pedro Alvarez. Giles openly showed his unhappiness on the mound regarding his manager's decision.
Giles went on to walk catcher Francisco Cervelli to load the bases, but then got out of the inning unscathed by striking out shortstop Jordy Mercer for the final out.
Upon returning to the dugout, the Phillies' reliever got into a heated argument with both Sandberg and pitching coach Bob McClure.
Bowa continued to tell Salisbury, “[Sandberg] went over and said, ‘I’m running this team. If I want to put that guy on, I’m putting him on. I’m the manager, you’re the pitcher.’ ”
The day following the incident, Giles told reporters that everything was 'buried in the dirt' and that disrespecting his coaches will never happen again.
Giles was asked by Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News Tuesday evening for his opinion of Mackanin remaining as manager.
The closer's response speaks large volumes towards his sentiments regarding Sandberg, by saying that Mackanin is 'able to speak our language.'
Ken Giles' endorsement of Pete Mackanin: "He's able to speak our language."
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) September 22, 2015
Comparing Giles' numbers with Mackanin in charge, opposed to Sandberg, can be viewed as backing up his statement.
Over 32.0 innings under Sandberg this season, he has a 1.69 ERA, 1.250 WHIP ratio and an opposing slash line of .220/.292/.293.
In just an inning less under Mackanin, Giles has a 1.16 ERA, 1.097 WHIP ratio, and a slash of .205/.271/.222.
The player-to-coach relationship is one of the most important things for a franchise to get right. Mackanin appears to be making a positive impact thus far, and he will have plenty of more opportunities moving forward to leave his mark and try to get the Phillies back to winning baseball.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
