Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs Second Base Legend, Dies at 65
Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs Second Base Legend, Dies at 65
Ryne Sandberg passed on. A baseball Hall of Famer, he was 65 years of age, and he had most of his career playing as the second base player in the Chicago Cubs. Later on, he handled Philadelphia Phillies.
Cubs and Major League Baseball announced the news of Sandberg passing away on Monday, July 28.
Cubs executive chairman Tom Ricketts released a statement on behalf of the team and Sandberg family in which he lauded Sandberg as the hero of an entire generation of fans. A statement that quoted Ricketts said Sandberg will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in almost 150 years of Cubs baseball. The way he was dedicated to and respected the game and the endearing sense of un-compromising integrity, grit, hustle and competition which characterized his career was true to the game.
According to Ricketts, he was very proud of all his teammates as well as his role as a world ambassador of the game of baseball, but proudest of all, he was proud of Margaret, his kids and his position as husband, father and grandfather.
Sandberg was born in the year 1959 in Spokane, Washington. His name reflected his father as a Yankees bullpen pitcher in Ryne Duren and his elder brother Del was named after a baseball hitter. The first coach of Sandberg was Del. According to Sandberg, People magazine (1984), when he received a high school girlfriend, "it was sort of tough." He used to go on a date and I wanted to play ball and I always would get mad.
Sandberg was an all-state baseball and basketball player at North Central High School, and college quarterback recruit and all-American recruit. Upon his draught by Phillies he decided not to enter college and followed his baseball career. In 1984 he had said: "Football, I think, was a hard business to earn money in." It has no minors. The best thing is either you make it to NFL or not.
He joined the Major League Baseball in 1981 as a shortstop, but eventually the organisation found him not a perfect fit and the organisation traded him to the Cubs (who had hired the previous general manager of the Phillies, who had drafted Sandberg) to play in 1982. Initially, Cubs wanted him to play as an out-fielder, however, he was transferred to the second baseman where he actually performed. In 1983, he captured the league best defensive award, the Gold Glove.
In the season of 1984, Sandberg exploded. He had a .314 batting average to top the National league in runs and triples. During a game, tagged as the Sandberg Game, he made 2 homeruns to help the Cubs clinch a 12-11 match against the arch rival St. Louis Cards. According to his manager, Jim Frey, he said to the PEOPLE in that year, I think he is currently in the top 4 or 5 in baseball when it comes to all round ability.
And in spite of losing the National League Championship Series, Sandberg led the team to victory in the Eastern Division of the National League, which was their first title since 1945. He also became the MVP of the League.
Sandberg was a quiet and uninspiring person who did not like sharing the limelight although he was a gifted player. He was called Gabby by his squad because of his personality of being calm. When he started as a member of the team, he said that he was a bit afraid and silent (He told PEOPLE). He further included an observation of the fanatic Cubs: "They are very knowledgeable about baseball". They laugh and applaud at the right time.
Sandberg made his career by retaining a total of nine gold gloves, ten All-Stars and seven silver slugger awards. In 1990 he topped the National league in homers. People voted him, as one of the 50 most attractive people in the world in 1990.
In 1994, Sandberg performed poorly and he chose to retire halfway. He told me, ''I am not the kind of a personality that can be satisfied with anything less than my best effort and performance. Nevertheless, he went back to Cubs in 1996 and 1997. He was retired with a.285 lifetime average and 277 career home runs, a record as the second-baseman of that time. It was also the last home game of the Cubs legend announcer, Harry Caray, who passed away in that winter, his last home game ever at Wrigley field.