CHICAGO — Ryne Sandberg, a celebrated Hall of Fame second baseman renowned for his prowess as a versatile player with the Chicago Cubs, has passed away at the age of 65.
Sandberg was surrounded by his family when he died at his home on Monday, according to the team.
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In January 2024, Sandberg revealed that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, later declaring in August 2024 that he was free of cancer.
However, on December 10, he shared on Instagram that his cancer had returned and metastasized to other organs. This month, he expressed his determination to continue the fight, expressing his intent to cherish each day with his beloved family and friends.
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Sandberg “will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise.”
“His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career,” Ricketts said in the team’s statement.
Fans pay tribute to Sandberg
Within minutes of the news breaking on Monday, Cubs fans started to gather at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. They stared in disbelief at the Marquee confirming the sad news that Sandberg had indeed passed away.
“He was one of our heroes. You think he’s going to live forever. Especially the guys that capture your imagination the way that Reno did. For a lot of us he was the Cubs. He was the guy growing up,” said Cubs fan Matt Lindner.
Fans have been taking photographs there and then, of course, at his statue, where already some have dropped off flowers in tribute to the Hall of Famer who spent all 15 seasons of his playing career with the Chicago Cubs.
“I just have a hole in my chest. It’s really tough moment. He’s shaped my baseball life. He shaped what I saw a good person to be like,” said Cubs fan Jeff Gorski.
These are just a few of the things people shared with ABC7 on Monday night, highlighting the tremendous influence Sandberg held with Cubs fans of a certain generation.
“This is really tough. I never. He’s one of those people, like he’s going to make it. Because he’s a fighter. I’ve got, I don’t know how many Ryne Sandberg jerseys. He was always my favorite. I’ve always loved him the most,” said Cubs fan Michael Berman.
The tributes are surely just starting as more and more people get the news and make their way over to Wrigley Field.
Sandberg’s career
Sandberg was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. He was selected out of high school by Philadelphia in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft.
He made his major league debut in 1981 and went 1 for 6 in 13 games with the Phillies. In January 1982, he was traded to Chicago along with Larry Bowa for veteran infielder Ivan De Jesus.
It turned into one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history.
Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 344 steals in 15 years with Chicago. He made 10 All-Star teams – winning the Home Run Derby in 1990 – and took home nine Gold Gloves.
“Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic.”
Even with Sandberg’s stellar play, the Cubs made just two postseason appearances while he was in Chicago.
He was the NL MVP in 1984, batting .314 with 19 homers, 84 RBIs, 32 steals, 19 triples and 114 runs scored. Chicago won the NL East and Sandberg hit .368 (7 for 19) in the playoffs, but the Cubs were eliminated by San Diego after winning the first two games of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field.
The 1984 season featured what Cubs fans still call “The Sandberg Game,” when he homered twice and drove in seven runs in a 12-11 victory over St. Louis in 11 innings on June 23.
Chicago paid tribute to Sandberg and that game when it unveiled a statue of the infielder outside Wrigley Field on that date in 2024.
“He was a superhero in this city,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said during a TV broadcast of the team’s game on July 20. “You think about (Michael) Jordan, Walter Payton and Ryne Sandberg all here at the same time, and I can’t imagine a person handling their fame better, their responsibility for a city better than he did.”
Sandberg led Chicago back to the playoffs in 1989, hitting .290 with 30 homers as the Cubs won the NL East. He batted .400 (8 for 20) in the NLCS, but Chicago lost to San Francisco in five games.
Sandberg set a career high with an NL-best 40 homers in 1990 and drove in a career-best 100 runs in 1990 and 1991, but he never made it back to the postseason. He retired after the 1997 season.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, receiving 76.2% of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his third try on the ballot. The Cubs retired his No. 23 that same year.
Sandberg also managed Philadelphia from August 2013 to June 2015, going 119-159. He got the interim job when Charlie Manuel was fired, and he resigned with the Phillies in the middle of a difficult 2015 season.
ABC7 Chicago’s Michelle Gallardo contributed to this report.
The video in the player above is from a previous report.
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