Born in Spokane, WA on September 18, 1959, Ryne Sandberg went on to become one of the most popular baseball players of the 1980s. He was named after journeyman relief pitcher Ryne Duren, who was called to the mound one fateful night when Sandberg’s parents were debating what to name their unborn child.
In high school Sandberg was a three-sport athlete, playing baseball, football, and basketball. He was such a good football player that Parade magazine named him the best high school quarterback in the country in 1978. Sandberg was offered football scholarships to several universities, but he instead chose to play baseball and was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies. After working his way through the minors, Sandberg played in 13 games for the Phillies in 1981, mostly as a defensive reserve. He had one hit in six at bats.
In 1982 the Phillies traded their shortstop Larry Bowa to Chicago in exchange for the Cubs shortstop Ivan DeJesus. In order to sweeten the deal, the Phillies threw in their young back-up utility infielder, Ryne Sandberg. This ended up being one of the best trades the Chicago Cubs have ever made. Sandberg immediately became the Cubs starting third baseman and he finished the season hitting .271 and leading the team in stolen bases and runs scored.
After being moved to second base near the end of the 1982 season, Sandberg really began to shine. In 1983 he committed only 13 errors and won the Gold Glove award as the best second baseman in the NL, but his offensive production remained slow. Sandberg gained the national spotlight in 1984, winning his second Gold Glove and leading the Cubs to the NL East title. Sandberg hit .314 and was named the National League MVP. Sandberg quickly became one of the Cubs’ top run producers, almost always leading the team in home runs, RBI’s, and runs scored. He went on to become the most popular Cub of the 1980s and one of the most well known players in all of baseball.
In 1993 the Cubs signed Sandberg to a contract that would pay him close to $6 million a year, in what was then the most lucrative deal in the history of baseball. After suffering a very poor season in 1994, he played in only 57 games and hit .238, Sandberg retired, stating that the game was no longer fun for him. There was much clamoring in the media about the fact he retired after the team had guaranteed him so much money, but Sandberg quickly diffused that by declaring his contract void and giving the Cubs their money back. Sandberg attempted a comeback in 1996 and was a mediocre hitter, but much of the magic was gone and he retired for good after the 1997 season.
Through his career Ryno won 9 straight Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991. He committed only 120 errors while playing in 2135 games, and ended up having a spectacular .989 career fielding percentage. He was elected to 10 straight All-Star teams from 1984 to 1993, and was the overall leading vote getter in 1988. He hit 40 home runs in 1990 to lead the NL. Sandberg is in second place for all-time home runs by a second baseman with 282, having only recently been passed by Jeff Kent.
Sandberg's final career numbers are:
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
1981 21 PHI NL 13 6 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .167 .167 .167 1 0 0 0 0 0
1982 22 CHC NL 156 635 103 172 33 5 7 54 32 12 36 90 .271 .312 .372 236 7 5 3 4 7
1983 23 CHC NL 158 633 94 165 25 4 8 48 37 11 51 79 .261 .316 .351 222 7 5 3 3 8
1984 24 CHC NL 156 636 114 200 36 19 19 84 32 7 52 101 .314 .367 .520 331 5 4 3 3 7
1985 25 CHC NL 153 609 113 186 31 6 26 83 54 11 57 97 .305 .364 .504 307 2 4 5 1 10
1986 26 CHC NL 154 627 68 178 28 5 14 76 34 11 46 79 .284 .330 .411 258 3 6 6 0 11
1987 27 CHC NL 132 523 81 154 25 2 16 59 21 2 59 79 .294 .367 .442 231 1 2 4 2 11
1988 28 CHC NL 155 618 77 163 23 8 19 69 25 10 54 91 .264 .322 .419 259 1 5 3 1 14
1989 29 CHC NL 157 606 104 176 25 5 30 76 15 5 59 85 .290 .356 .497 301 1 2 8 4 9
1990 30 CHC NL 155 615 116 188 30 3 40 100 25 7 50 84 .306 .354 .559 344 0 9 8 1 8
1991 31 CHC NL 158 585 104 170 32 2 26 100 22 8 87 89 .291 .379 .485 284 1 9 4 2 9
1992 32 CHC NL 158 612 100 186 32 8 26 87 17 6 68 73 .304 .371 .510 312 0 6 4 1 13
1993 33 CHC NL 117 456 67 141 20 0 9 45 9 2 37 62 .309 .359 .412 188 2 6 1 2 12
1994 34 CHC NL 57 223 36 53 9 5 5 24 2 3 23 40 .238 .312 .390 87 0 0 0 1 6
1996 36 CHC NL 150 554 85 135 28 4 25 92 12 8 54 116 .244 .316 .444 246 1 5 4 7 9
1997 37 CHC NL 135 447 54 118 26 0 12 64 7 4 28 94 .264 .308 .403 180 0 3 3 2 5
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
16 Seasons 8385 2386 76 1061 107 1260 .285 .344 .452 31 71 59 34 139
2164 1318 403 282 344 761 3787
Ryne Sandberg became eligible for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 and was finally elected in his third year of eligibility in 2005.
Hall of Fame Index
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