Mike Quade will officially be taking over the reins for the Chicago Cubs. The 53-year-old who the players call “Q”, was officially named manager of the team and was introduced, or re-introduced, to the media this week.

Quade was first named manager of the Cubs on August 22 after Lou Piniella abruptly walked away from the team and Jim Hendry was sure to point out at the press conference that Quade was never “interim manager” always manager.

Speculation about who would end up in the position has been intense with the names most mentioned being Quade, Ryne Sandberg and Joe Girardi.

So let’s meet “Q.” Going into the search, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts made it clear he wanted his new manager to understand the unique pressures of being Cubs manager. In addition to being with the Cubs organization for eight years, Quade is also a Chicago area native hailing from Evanston and graduated from Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, IL. His tenure with the club, especially the past four years has given him a different perspective from the one he had as a youngster going to Cubs games as a fan. Quade has lived the pressures, anticipation and longing for a Cubs World Series from both perspectives.

So Quade becomes the 51st manager in Cubs history, promoted after serving as the Cubs third base coach for four years. According to a Cubs press release, he has 17 years and 2,378 games of experience as a manager at the minor league level. He has been a major league coach in the American and National Leagues, including three seasons with the Oakland A’s as first base coach from 2000-2002, and the four years as the Cubs’ third base coach.

In all, Quade has more than 25 years of pro coaching and managing experience, including a pair of minor league manager of the year awards with Double-A Harrisburg in 1991 and Triple-A Ottawa in 1993. As a winter ball manager, Quade led Aguilas Cibaenas to the 1996-97 Dominican Winter League Championship and Caribbean World Series Title.

In 1999, Quade led Vancouver to the Pacific Coast League championship and won the Triple-A World Series. A year later, Quade received his first major league coaching opportunity with Oakland. Quade has also served as a manager in the Montreal, Philadelphia, Oakland and Cubs farm systems.

“It’s absolutely the right thing to do,” said Ricketts. “Obviously he was a Cub fan his whole life. Eight years in the organization, four years sitting next to Lou. He knows what it’s like.”

Used with permission of the author.

Miriam Romain is a Chicago-based sportswriter and national columnist covering the Chicago Cubs for Examiner.com. The Windy City native is also the Associate Editor for SBNation Chicago and has been published in the Maple Street Press Cubs annuals. In her free time, Romain is working on a book titled “Summers At Wrigley With My Dad.”

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