{"id":108273,"date":"2025-07-31T19:02:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108273\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T19:02:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:02:24","slug":"vintage-chicago-tribune-remembering-ryne-sandberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/108273\/","title":{"rendered":"Vintage Chicago Tribune: Remembering Ryne Sandberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cBig career ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how longtime Tribune reporter Jerome Holtzman<\/a> described a recently acquired Chicago Cub Ryne Sandberg in April 1982.<\/p>\n

\u201cOutstanding all-around athlete, with excellent instincts in all departments,\u201d Holtzman wrote about the then-third basemen who was named for New York Yankees pitcher Ryne Duren<\/a>. \u201cGood base-stealer and baserunner. Beneath seemingly calm exterior beats the heart of a tiger, or so it seems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Column: Ryne Sandberg left a legacy at Wrigley Field \u2014 and the Chicago Cubs and their fans were better for it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cRyno,\u201d as he was dubbed by Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, rebounded from an 0-for-31 start with the franchise to earn nine Gold Glove awards, 10 All-Star Games, seven Silver Slugger awards and the 1984 National League MVP.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the real legacy of Sandberg\u2019s career is reflected in the respect a laughable organization suddenly earned when he morphed into \u2018The Natural,\u2019 a real-life version of Robert Redford\u2019s movie character,\u201d Tribune columnist Paul Sullivan<\/a> wrote earlier this week about the June 23, 1984, event known as \u201cThe Sandberg Game.\u201d<\/a> \u201cSandberg helped usher in an era in which the Cubs were no longer a team that could be ignored and showed the world how magical a ballpark could be when everything worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandberg died Monday at 65<\/a>, surrounded by family at his home in Illinois. He battled metastatic prostate cancer<\/a> and shared news of his remission in August, but four months later he provided an update that the\u00a0cancer had returned and spread<\/a> to other organs.<\/p>\n

No. 23\u2019s legacy, according to Sullivan, is that he made it cool to go to Wrigley Field again: \u201cThat\u2019s just what legends do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at highlights from Sandberg\u2019s 15-year career in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Jan. 27, 1982<\/p>\n

\"LarryLarry Bowa, left, and Chicago Cubs coach Gordy MacKenzie (5) congratulate Ryne Sandberg, whose two-out single in the 13th inning gave the Cubs a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 29, 1982. (Dave Nystrom\/Chicago Tribune)The Cubs traded Ivan DeJesus to Philadelphia for \u201caging but feisty veteran\u201d Larry Bowa and Sandberg \u2014 \u201can untested minor leaguer\u201d<\/a> \u2014 who had been drafted by the Phillies in the 20th round<\/a> of the 1978 summer draft of free agents.<\/p>\n

Sandberg spent his first three full seasons in the minors. In 1981, at the Phillies\u2019 top farm club in Oklahoma City, he was the American Association\u2019s All-Star shortstop.<\/p>\n

Obviously a promising prospect, Sandberg was a September callup and finished the season with the Phillies. Sandberg appeared in 13 games and recorded just six plate appearances \u2014 with his first MLB hit<\/a> coming on a single at Wrigley Field during the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 27, 1981. (The Cubs won 14-0.) Aware he needed more experience, the Philadelphia brass recommended Sandberg play winter ball in Venezuela<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

How Sandberg got here nearly as classic as career<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bobby Wine, then a Philadelphia coach, also was dispatched to Venezuela. A former big-league infielder, Wine would manage the club and watch over Sandberg, along with four or five other Phillies farmhands.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t too happy about playing winter ball<\/a>,\u201d recalled Wine. \u201cHe wanted to go home. A lot of guys wanted to go home. He struggled and didn\u2019t play that well.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Wine returned to Philadelphia, he was convinced Sandberg wouldn\u2019t be a successful major-league shortstop. Ruben Amaro, the general manager at Venezuela, who also had been a big-league shortstop, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when the Phillies decided to move him<\/a>,\u201d Wine said.<\/p>\n

Oct. 3, 1982
\n\"CubsCubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg gloves Butch Benton’s throw after the Mets Ron Gardenhire steals second in September 1982 at Wrigley Field. (Phil Mascione\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

New Cubs general manager Dallas Green \u2014 who was also acquired from the Phillies \u2014 made Sandberg the opening-day starter at third base<\/a> following an excellent spring training. The Tribune called Sandberg, \u201cdefinitely a rookie-of-the-year candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandberg had four hits and scored his 103rd run<\/a> \u2014 setting a team record for a rookie \u2014 in the Cubs\u2019 last game of the season. He placed sixth<\/a> in rookie-of-the-year voting and concluded the year with a .271 batting average.<\/p>\n

June 23, 1984
\n\"CubsCubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg is congratulated by third-base coach Don Zimmer after his ninth-inning home run against the Cardinals tied the score 9-9 on June 23, 1984, at Wrigley Field. (Charles Cherney\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sandberg Game.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Sandberg hit a pair of late-inning, game-tying home runs off St. Louis Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter in the Cubs\u2019 12-11, 11-inning win before a crowd of 38,079 at Wrigley Field. It signaled his rise to stardom \u2014 setting the second baseman on a course that would earn him the National League Most Valuable Player Award.<\/p>\n

The wild, comeback win gave notice to the rest of America that the 1984 Cubs were for real despite a 39-year World Series drought and not a single championship since 1908. That game ignited an unforgettable summer run that ended with a postseason collapse in San Diego, only one game shy of the World Series.<\/p>\n

Nov. 13, 1984
\n\"TeammatesTeammates great Ryne Sandberg after he tripled and scored in the third inning on June 24, 1984. (Jose Mor\u00e9\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cCardinals manager Whitey Herzog already had dubbed him \u2018the best player I have ever seen\u2019 and \u2018Baby Ruth,\u2019 so it seemed almost anticlimactic when Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was formally anointed the National League\u2019s Most Valuable Player<\/a>,\u201d Tribune reporter Fred Mitchell wrote. (Mitchell also helped Sandberg write his first autobiography, \u201cRyno.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Sandberg \u2014 who hit .314 in 156 games for the fourth-best mark in the league, and got 22 of the 24 first-place votes \u2014 was the first Cub since \u201cMr. Cub\u201d Ernie Banks<\/a> in 1959 to receive the honor. But Sandberg wasn\u2019t present at Wrigley Field to receive the award \u2014 he was at sea<\/a> as part of a team cruise. He disembarked at Guadalupe to speak to the press via a ship-to-shore phone hookup that cost the Cubs $104 for 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

Two weeks later, Sandberg also received his second of nine consecutive Golden Glove awards<\/a> at second base.<\/p>\n

1985
\n\"TheThe Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg, stealing second base, protects his head from a wild throw by San Diego catcher Bruce Bochy as second baseman Garry Templeton awaits the throw on July 9, 1985. (Ed Wagner Jr.\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Stolen bases \u2014 54 \u2014 his career best.<\/p>\n

July 9-10, 1990
\n\"RyneRyne Sandberg acknowledges the cheers after his three home runs lifted the NL over the AL at the All-Star Game home run competition on July 9, 1990. (Bob Langer\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

After he received 2.26 million votes<\/a> (second overall to Jose Canseco) and earned National League Player of the Month<\/a> honors for June, Sandberg hit three home runs<\/a> to help the National League beat the American League 4-1 in the home run contest.<\/p>\n

The next day, Sandberg and fellow Cubs Andre Dawson and Shawon Dunston went 0-for-7 at the plate<\/a> as the American League shut out the National League 2-0 on a windy, rainy night.<\/p>\n

June 13, 1994
\n\"RyneRyne Sandberg, with wife Cindy, signs autographs outside Wrigley Field on June 13, 1994, after he announced his retirement from baseball. (Nancy Stone\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandberg\u00a0retired<\/a>, saying he wanted to devote more time to his family and adding he had \u201clost the edge it takes\u201d to play.<\/p>\n

After resolving matters in his personal life and remarrying, the future Hall of Famer\u00a0returned<\/a>\u00a0to the Cubs after the 1995 season and hit 25 home runs with 92 RBIs in his comeback year.<\/p>\n

2005
\n\"RyneRyne Sandberg, clutching his Hall of Fame plaque, waves to the Cooperstown, New York, crowd on July 31, 2005. (Phil Velasquez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a>. He delivered a stirring speech that criticized the products of the steroid era.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen did it become OK for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sandberg spoke about playing the game \u201cright because that\u2019s what you\u2019re supposed to do\u201d and said if his election into the Hall validates anything it\u2019s that \u201clearning how to bunt, hit-and-run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light (on) the dugout camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TrumpetsTrumpets play as former Chicago Cubs second baseman and Hall of Fame player Ryne Sandberg is introduced as his No. 23 jersey is retired before a game against the Florida Marlins at Wrigley Field on Aug. 28, 2005. (Jos\u00e9 M. Osorio\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandberg mentioned nine of his former Cubs teammates during his speech. Sammy Sosa, who was on the rise in Sandberg\u2019s final season in 1997, wasn\u2019t among them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hit a home run, you drop the bat, put your head down and run around the bases because the name on the front of your uniform is a lot more important than the name on the back,\u201d Sandberg said. \u201cThat\u2019s respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also had his No. 23 retired<\/a> by the Cubs on Aug. 28, 2005, at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n

Jan. 22, 2024
\n\"RyneRyne Sandberg, center, throws out a ceremonial first pitch with former Chicago Cubs Billy Williams, Lee Smith, Fergie Jenkins and Andre Dawson on April 1, 2024, in the home opener at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandberg disclosed his diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer<\/a>. He shared news of his remission that August, but four months later, he provided an update that the cancer had returned and spread<\/a>\u00a0to other organs, prompting more intensive treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support has been tremendously overwhelming right from the first week, and it\u2019s continued throughout,\u201d he told the Tribune in June 2024. \u201cIt\u2019s just been incredible and I think that\u2019s been as much medicine to me as anything really.\u201d<\/p>\n

June 23, 2024
\n\"FormerFormer Cubs player Ryne Sandberg attends a dedication ceremony for his statue outside Wrigley Field on June 23, 2024. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Sandberg\u2019s 11 grandchildren pushed a button together that unveiled a statue<\/a> of his likeness outside Wrigley Field \u2014 40 years after the \u201cSandberg Game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the things I wanted on the statue was being on the balls of the feet, being ready for every single pitch,\u201d Sandberg told reporters after the statue dedication ceremony at Gallagher Way. \u201cMy defense was very important for me. I thought, for me, it was \u2018Bring your glove every single day.\u2019 You might go into some hitting slumps, but as far as defense goes, as long as I did my pregame work I wanted to play defense every day for the pitcher, for everybody on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget that day and what that all means,\u201d\u00a0Sandberg told the Tribune in February<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see. And oftentimes I see a few fans around there posing for pictures. On occasion, I\u2019ve walked up to them and said, \u2018This is pretty cool, isn\u2019t it?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more vintage Chicago?<\/p>\n

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