Following their middling 1983 season which saw the Islanders finish just one game above .500 at 72-71, Tom Trebelhorn was out as Hawaii’s manager in 1984.

It ended a rather underwhelming stint as a minor league manager in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. The former catcher and infielder had managed Pittsburgh’s Triple-A affiliate in 1982 in his native Portland, overseeing a Beavers team that went 65-79.

At the time of his departure, Trebelhorn had only managed to a winning season once in the minor leagues. After heading up the Short-Season Boise A’s as a 27-year-old in 1975 and finishing at an even 39-39 record, the club took a bit of a step back to 33-38 in 1976.

A year later, he was bumped up to full-length ball with the Low-A Modesto A’s. Though that roster did include an 18-year-old Rickey Henderson, who got on base 46.6% of the time, drew 104 walks, and stole 95 bases, Modesto was a lowly team and finished last place in the six-team California League at 53-87.

The Modesto year spelled the end of Trebelhorn’s time in the A’s organization, and the start of a lengthy absence from the full-length season managing circuit. He had a one-year stint with the Batavia Trojans, a Short-Season affiliate of Cleveland, but didn’t get a full-time gig until the Pirates called and gave him the Portland job.

Hawaii and Trebelhorn’s split put him out of work for the 1984 season, but was far from the end of his managerial career. In a year’s time, he would be back in the Pacific Coast League managing the Vancouver Canadians, and by 1986 he was sporting a major league uniform as the skipper of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Promoted to Trebelhorn’s spot was Tommy Sandt, who was making his next stop rising through the ranks of the Pirates organization.

A former second-round pick by Oakland in 1969, Sandt enjoyed more than a decade of pro baseball starting right out of high school and experienced a brief major league stint with the A’s in the mid 1970s.

In 1979 he signed with Portland when it was still an affiliate of the Pirates, where he was one of the better batters for the Beavers. Though not a power hitter by any means, Sandt slashed .322/.394/.404 (798 OPS) with two home runs and 42 RBI in 88 games.

Sandt was one of the veteran leaders on the Portland team, and at 28 years old was the second-oldest batter the Beavers trotted out. Sandt was only behind catcher Harry Saferight, a five-time draftee and career minor-leaguer.

Sandt was a representation of both the successes and the failures of Beavers batting that year. Though Portland was a top-three team in batting average in the Pacific Coast League that season, they were very middle-of-the-pack in most other stats, including slugging and home runs.

The next year, as Portland took a bit of a step back in the standings, Sandt’s numbers also dipped. In 63 games, he slashed .232/.330/.293 (.623 OPS) with one home run and 17 RBI. Though, for the second straight year, he drew more walks than strikeouts.

The decline in his bat was sharp, and the 1980 season was his last year with regular reps as a player. By 1981, Sandt was limited to just six games for Portland where he went 1-for-10 with a walk.

A year later, he jumped into the managerial game, taking over for Johnny Lipon, who had managed at all levels of baseball for over two decades before a 56-81 season in Double-A Buffalo ended his time with the Bisons. Sandt’s first year in western New York didn’t go any better; in the final year of Buffalo’s affiliation with the Pirates, the Bisons went 55-84.

After the organization switched their Double-A affiliate to Lynn, the Pirates kept Sandt as manager for the 1983 season. His young Bucs improved rapidly in Massachusetts, skyrocketing all the way to a 77-62 record and a playoff spot.

Perhaps the highlight of that season, however, was Sandt suiting up for the Sailors himself. Ripping a page out of old-school baseball, the 32-year-old took nine games at first base for Lynn in 1983 and came to the plate a grand total of 20 times. In one of the oddest stat lines you will ever see, Sandt was 1-for-11 with eight walks to just one strikeout. That one hit, by the way, was a home run.

And whether it was the good eye of the vast improvement Pittsburgh’s Double-A team saw from year one to year two, Sandt was the man in line for when the Pirates needed a new Triple-A manager.

When the Hawaii Islanders would take to the field in Honolulu to open 1984, Sandt was standing in the dugout looking on.