Bowa: Ryno Woke Up at 4AM After Hamels Charity Event and Just Decided to Resign

Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

It has been about three weeks and three wins since Ryne Sandberg stepped away from the manager position of the Phillies. We’re still not sure exactly what made him make the decision, and his close friend Larry Bowa doesn’t either.

Talking to Jim Salisbury, Bowa said he was shocked:

“It caught me 100 percent off guard. I didn’t want it to end like that for him. He never hinted he was going to walk away. It was like a bombshell for me … Ryno told me he went to Cole Hamels’ charity function (the day before he resigned) and everybody was saying, ‘Hang in there, keep grinding. He said he had a good time. He said he went home that night, woke up at 4 in the morning and said, ‘I’m done.’ That’s what he told me.”

Bowa also went in-depth into what could have bothered Ryno enough to walk away. “He kept saying there would be new management and he didn’t like the fact that he’d have to prove himself with a team that wasn’t at the top of its game,” Bowa said. “[The shouting match with Giles] was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back. He went over and said, ‘I’m running this team. If I want to put that guy on, I’m putting him on. I’m the manager, you’re the pitcher.'”

Well, he’s not the manager anymore, and by all of the things Bowa said, he’s probably much happier today. You can read more of Bowa’s comments here.