CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs hired Dale Sveum as their new manager, hoping the Milwaukee Brewers hitting coach can help turn around the long- suffering franchise.
The Cubs said Sveum will be introduced at a news conference today at Wrigley Field.
Sveum replaces Mike Quade, who was fired by Theo Epstein, the team’s new president of baseball operations. The Cubs finished 71-91 after a disappointing season that extended their infamous championship drought to 103 seasons.
Sveum, who turns 48 on Wednesday, has little experience as a manager, other than an interim stint for the Brewers in 2008. After Ned Yost was fired following a 3-11 slide in September, Sveum led the Brewers to their first playoff appearance in 26 years, winning six of seven down the stretch and capturing the wild card on the final day of the regular season.
Sveum also interviewed for the Red Sox managerial vacancy and met a second time this week with officials from both the Cubs and Boston. Sveum served as Boston’s third-base coach in 2004-05, when Epstein was the general manager.
At the time, Sveum was criticized for an aggressive approach that led to runners being thrown out at the plate. But the coach with the nickname of “Nuts” was part of a championship team and is a believer in the advanced statistical analysis that Chicago’s new leadership loves and is counting on to build the farm system. The Associated Press
