Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959 in Spokane, Washington), nicknamed "Ryno," is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who spent nearly his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. He was named after relief pitcher Ryne Duren, and is recognized as one of the best second basemen of all time. Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2005; he was formally inducted in ceremonies on July 31, 2005.

Sandberg established himself as a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove candidate, making 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and winning nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991. His career .989 fielding percentage is a major league record at second base.

MLB

Philadelphia Phillies

Sandberg was drafted in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He went on to make his major league debut as a shortstop for the Phillies in 1981.

However, the Phillies didn't have much room in the lineup for him at the time. The Phillies didn't think he could play shortstop, and he was blocked from second and third base by Manny Trillo and Mike Schmidt, respectively. Accordingly, he was traded along with shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus prior to the 1982 season. The trade, now considered one of the most one-sided deals in baseball history (ironically, the Cubs have historically been on the short end of such deals), came about because Bowa had antagonized the Phillies' front office. However, Cubs general manager Dallas Green (a former Phillies manager) wanted a young prospect to go along with the aging Bowa.

Years later, Phillies general manager Paul Owens said that he didn't want to trade Sandberg, but Green and the Cubs weren't interested in any of the other prospects he offered. Owens then went back to his scouts, who told him Sandberg wouldn't be any more than a utility infielder. However, Sandberg had hit over .290 in the minors two years in a row. The trade would end up being an epoch-making deal for the Cubs, as well as one of the worst trades in Phillies history. DeJesus would only last three years in Philadelphia, and was out of baseball by 1988.

Sandberg is one of two Hall of Famers who came up through the Phillies farm system and earned their Hall of Fame credentials primarily as Cubs, the other being Ferguson Jenkins. Similarly, Jenkins was traded to the Cubs in another lopsided trade (a multi-player trade for pitchers Larry Jackson and Bob Buhl).


Chicago Cubs

The Cubs, who initially wanted Sandberg to play center field, installed him as their third baseman, and he went on to be one of the top-rated rookies of 1982. However, Sandberg was displaced by Chicago's trade for veteran Ron Cey following the 1982 season, so Sandberg moved to second base, where he became a star.

1984

After winning a Gold Glove Award in his first season at the new position, Sandberg emerged with a breakout season in 1984, in which he batted .314 with 200 hits, 114 runs, 36 doubles, 19 homers and triples, and 84 RBI. He nearly became only the third player to collect 20 doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases in the same season, led the Cubs to the National League's Eastern Division title (their first championship of any kind since 1945), and won National League Most Valuable Player honors.


1990

In 1990, Sandberg led the National League in home runs-a rarity for a second baseman-with 40. Sandberg was only the third second baseman to hit 40 home runs; Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson hit 42, and no American League second baseman has yet reached fifty. Sandberg also batted in 100 runs, despite batting second in the order. His batting average did not suffer from his new level of power, as he finished at .306 for the season. Sandberg, Brady Anderson and Barry Bonds are the only players to have both a 40-homer (1990) and 50-steal (1985) season during their careers. Sandberg played a then major league-record 123 straight games at second base without an error. This has since been broken by Plácido Polanco of the Detroit Tigers.


1992

On March 2, 1992, Sandberg became the highest paid player in baseball at the time, signing a $28.4 million ($43,123,674 in current dollar terms) four-year extension worth $7.1 million ($10,780,918 in current dollar terms) a season. He earned a spot on the NL All-Star roster and an NL Silver Slugger Award at second base with a .304 batting average, 26 home runs, 100 runs, and 87 runs batted in.


1994

After struggling early in the season, Sandberg retired in 1994.


1996 - 1997

He came back for the 1996 and 1997 seasons, retiring again with a career batting average of .285, and a record 277 home runs as a second baseman; this record was surpassed in 2004 by Jeff Kent.

Hall of Fame

Sandberg delivered what many traditionalist fans considered a stirring speech at his Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2005. He thanked the writers who voted for him because it meant that he played the game the way he had been taught it should be played. He spoke several times of respect for the game, and chided a subset of current players who, in his opinion, lack that respect. Specifically, he spoke of how the game needs more than home run hitters, citing that turning a double-play and laying down a sacrifice bunt are weapons many of today's greats don't value.


Sandberg's Number is Retired - # 23

He followed up on his Hall of Fame induction by becoming only the fourth Chicago Cub to have his number retired. The others before him were Ernie Banks (#14), Billy Williams (#26), and Ron Santo (#10). Since then, the #31 ( Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux ) has been retired.

On August 28, 2005, Sandberg had his number 23 retired in a ceremony at Wrigley Field, before a Cubs game against the Florida Marlins. His number had already been de facto retired, as no other Cub had been assigned the number since Sandberg's active playing days had ended. In his capacity as a Cubs spring training instructor and as the Peoria Chiefs manager, Sandberg still wears his uniform number 23.

Coincidentally, 23 has also been retired for another prominent Chicago sports figure from the 1980s and 1990s, Michael Jordan.