Chicago Cubs Name Mike Quade to Manager Post
After putting fans through a breathless waiting period following the August retirement of manager Lou Piniella, the Chicago Cubs decided to hire from within and stick with its interim manager, Mike Quade (pronounced Quah'-dee).
Formerly a third-base coach for the Cubs, Quade is a loyal member of the Cubs staff who found himself at the helm when Piniella left for his Florida home before the end of the 2019-10 season.
In the short time he was skipper, Quade racked up a 24-13 record, which wasn't bad for the ailing Cubs, who ended the season in fifth place.
Quade is a quiet 53-year-old, a died-in-the-wool baseball nut who hails from Evanston, IL. He's popular with the team. He might even be able to figure out what's going on in Carlos Zambrano's head.
But he was a shock of a pick for the many high-profile personalities who wanted the spot, most prominently Ryne Sandberg, the former second baseman and Hall of Famer who had been a legend with the Cubs.
Sandberg (known as "Ryno" to his fans) went to manage farm teams fhe Cubs organizatons just so he could get close enough to getting his shot at the Cubs. After the 2008 season, he was told he didn't have enough experience, so he went back to the farm teams, and this time racked up an 82-62 recond.
Good enough? Nope.
He was bitterly disappointed when Quade was named manager. Still, the Cubs are putting out an olive branch and saying that they will consider making Sandberg part of Quade's coaching staff.
"I still have the ambition to do this at the Major League level," Sandberg said. "After some digesting [of the news] and seeing if other opportunities come about, I'll listen to those opportunities and take it from there."
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