Former Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg finally has a shot to manage a big-league club.
The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Charlie Manuel Friday and replaced him with Sandberg, who had been the team's third base coach.
The promotion comes with the "interim" title, but Sandberg has a chance to prove himself through the rest of the season.
Manuel was with the team since 2005 and won a World Series in 2008, but the team finished at .500 last year and is on track for a losing record this season.
Sandberg played for the Cubs from 1982-1997, retiring with a career batting average of .285, 2,386 hits, 282 home runs and 1,061 RBIs.
Sandberg began his coaching career in 2006 with the Peoria Chiefs, the Cubs' Class A team. He was eventually promoted to manage the Triple-A Iowa Cubs where he was named the Pacific Coast League's Manager of the Year, but left the organization when he was passed over for the big league club's managerial job offered to Mike Quade.
Sandberg is in his third year with the Phillies, managing their Triple A team for two seasons.
He was originally drafted by the Phillies in 1978 before being traded to the Cubs in 1981.
