Ryne Sandberg’s chances to become the next manager of the Cubs took a knock last week when he botched his interview with GM Jim Hendry by not wearing a tie and bringing only one copy of an outdated resume.
“Aw heck, I’m not sure what I was thinking,” said Sandberg. “When Jim called me in he made it sound like it would be so informal, that I just assumed it would be okay to go casual.”
Sandberg quickly learned he assumed incorrectly.
“Jim was wearing some fancy suit and the first thing he did when we started the interview was ask me why I felt it was acceptable to take such a serious meeting so lightly that I wouldn’t wear a tie,” said Sandberg. “He then wondered out loud what that meant about my interest in managing a Major League ball club.”
The interview took another turn south when Hendry asked to see Sandberg’s resume. It was a request for which Sandberg was woefully unprepared. Sandberg only had a version from 2006, and that was being used as scrap paper with a grocery list written on the back.
“I’ve been a part of the Cubs organization for nearly 20 years. My number’s retired an flies on a Wrigley Field foul pole,” said Sandberg. “Why the heck would Jim want to see my resume?”
Sandberg’s lackluster interview performance aside, Hendry said he viewed the Hall of Famer as a dark horse candidate to begin with.
“It’s great Ryne has been such an important part of our organization for so long,” said Hendry. “But he’s never won a World Series and I’d like to hire a guy who knows what it takes to win one, since I certainly don’t.”
