Dale Sveum was named the manager of the Chicago Cubs for the 2012 season. This is after he has been a coach in the majors for most of the last decade. Sveum has two World Series rings, one in 1998 with the Yankees and one in 2004 with the Red Sox.
(Editor’s note: Guest post from David Malamut, But if you’ve already figured out I didn’t write this because you know I DON’T CARE about baseball)
Sveum has managed once in the majors. He took over the Brewers for the final 12 games of the 2008 season after Ned Yost was let go and guided them into the playoffs. The Brewers would lose to the Phillies in the NLDS.
Before that his only managing experience came at AA in Altoona in the Pirates organization in 2001-2003. Guiding them to their first back to back winning seasons, and their first appearance in the Eastern League playoffs in 2003. He managed such future big leaguers as Tony Alvarez, D.J. Carrasco, Ryan Doumit, J.R. House, and Ryan Vogelsong. Was named the 2003 top managing prospect of the Eastern League by Baseball America.
Sveum was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1st round of the 1982 draft out of Pinole Valley High School in California. From there it would be four years before he would make it to the Brewers. In 1986 he came up in in late May and was there to stay. He would play in 511 games in Milwaukee over the next 5 years.
Dale missed the 1989 season after a collision late in the 1988 season with outfielder Darryl Hamilton which caused a serious leg fracture. After the 1991 season he would be traded to Philadelphia, then late in 1992 traded to the Chicago White Sox for Keith Shepherd. He spent 1 season on the south side, playing in 40 games and hitting .219.
After that it was a lot of moving around, as he spent a year with Oakland, three years in Pittsburgh. A year in Seattle and a year with the Yankees. He would retire in 1999 at age 35 with the Pirates. After the trade to Philadelphia, he was basically a part time player. Besides the 1997 season in Pittsburgh where he played in 126 games, the most he played in was 54 with the Phillies in 1992.