Sandberg headlines 2009 staff

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Smokies, Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, proudly announce today Cubs Hall-of-Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg will be the Smokies' manager for the 2009 season. Joining Sandberg on the 2009 staff will be pitching coach Dennis Lewallyn, hitting coach Tom Beyers and athletic trainer Nick Frangella.

"Ryne has been a great ambassador for the game over his career as a player, manager and-Hall of-Famer, and we welcome him to East Tennessee," Smokies General Manager Brian Cox states. "We are excited our fans will get the chance to see a Cubs legend every night this summer at the ballpark."

Sandberg arrives to the Smokies following two seasons as manager for the Peoria Chiefs (Low-A), leading the Chiefs to 71-68 and 60-78-1 records in 2007 and 2008, respectively. His managerial career with the Cubs follows a legendary one as a player. The 1984 N.L. Most Valuable Player hit .285 with 282 home runs and 1,061 RBIs over 16 seasons, mostly with the Cubs. Sandberg was also a 10-time N.L. All-Star and seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner. His career .989 fielding percentage (tops in MLB history among second baseman) helped him earn a total of nine Gold Glove awards. All of which led to his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

"For me, it's an excellent opportunity advancing up the ladder with what I'm doing now in baseball," Sandberg says. "I appreciate the opportunity the Cubs have given me these past two years, and I am looking forward to the challenges in taking this next step and being successful in Tennessee."

Lewallyn returns for a third consecutive year as the pitching coach of the Smokies. He began his coaching career as a pitching instructor for 13 years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He then moved over to the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system, serving as the pitching coach for Lethbridge (Rookie League) in 1996. He followed this up working with South Bend (Low-A) in 1997, High Desert (High-A) in 1998 and with El Paso (Double-A) from 1999-2001. Lewallyn is a former first-round draft pick and spent time in the majors with the Dodgers, Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians.

Beyers arrives to the Smokies following two seasons as manager of the Boise Hawks (Short-A). He joined the Cubs organization in 2000 as hitting coach for Eugune (Low-A), then Boise from 2001-03. In 2004, as manager, Beyers won the Northwest League's Manager of the Year award. He then resumed hitting coach duties with Boise in 2005 and West Tenn (Double-A) in 2006, before returning to Boise. Prior to his time with the Cubs, Beyers served as a player, coach and manager in the Dodgers organization for 16 seasons.

Athletic trainer Nick Frangella will return for a second season with the Smokies in 2009, his fourth overall in the Cubs' minor league system.

Two members of the 2008 Smokies coaching staff, Buddy Bailey and Barbaro Garbey, will remain in the Cubs organization. Bailey will be the manager at Daytona (High-A); Garbey will be the hitting coach for Peoria.

ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
The Tennessee Smokies are the minor league Class AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the 10-team Southern League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America's national pastime in the East Tennessee region for almost 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com - powered by Comcast.