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On the outset of Sunday’s Corridor of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown, chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark invoked the phrases of 2005 honoree Ryne Sandberg, who was not among the many 52 returning Corridor of Famers onstage for the festivities:
“As I’ve stated many occasions earlier than, the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame is a unprecedented place, and nobody has described our recreation and what the Corridor of Fame means higher than Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs legend and member of the Corridor of Fame’s Class of 2005,” started Clark. “Throughout his induction speech, he stated, ‘The explanation I’m right here, they inform me, is that I performed the sport a sure manner, that I performed the sport the way in which it was speculated to be performed. I don’t learn about that, however I do know this: I had an excessive amount of respect for the sport to play it another manner. And if there’s a single cause I’m right here at the moment, it’s due to one phrase: Respect.’”
As she continued, Clark’s voice audibly cracked, however she pushed by means of. “There’s not a person seated behind me this afternoon who didn’t play the sport the identical manner Ryno did. It’s that respect, character, sportsmanship, integrity, and excellence that results in only one p.c of people who have ever performed main league baseball to be inducted into the Corridor of Fame.”
Her message — which referenced the Corridor’s personal voting guidelines, the so-called “character clause” — was evergreen, however the absence of Sandberg, who had attended the final two induction ceremonies, was conspicuous. So was Clark’s show of emotion, and now we all know why. Sandberg, who was identified with metastatic prostate most cancers in January 2024, died on Monday at age 65.
Sandberg spent all however 13 video games of a 16-year main league profession with the Cubs, who acquired him and longtime shortstop Larry Bowa from the Phillies in a January 27, 1982 commerce for Ivan De Jesus. Combining uncommon energy for a second baseman with glorious vary and excellent fingers, he made 10 consecutive All-Star groups from 1984–93 (all however 1985 as a starter), and received 9 straight Gold Gold Gloves from ’83–91; he additionally set information for second basemen with 123 consecutive errorless video games and 584 consecutive errorless possibilities in ’89–90. In 1984, his age-24 season, he broke out to gather 200 hits and lead the Nationwide League with 8.5 WAR (all WAR figures right here confer with the Baseball Reference model). The Cubs received 96 video games and the NL East title that yr, reaching the postseason for the primary time in 39 years, and though they suffered an agonizing loss to the Padres in a traditional five-game Nationwide League Championship Collection, after the season he took residence the NL MVP award. Regardless of a public persona so understated that one Chicago author referred to him as having the persona “of a Chia Pet,” he emerged because the face of the franchise, and some of the common gamers within the recreation. No much less an authority than future Corridor of Fame supervisor Whitey Herzog referred to as him “one of the best baseball participant I’ve ever seen” after Sandberg hit game-tying homers within the ninth and tenth innings off one other future Corridor of Famer, Bruce Sutter, in a nationally televised recreation on June 23, 1984, to cap a 5-for-6, seven-RBI efficiency, which rapidly grew to become often called “The Ryne Sandberg Recreation.”
“Ryne Sandberg was, nonetheless briefly, the face of the sport,” wrote San Francisco Chronicle sports activities editor Christina Kahrl, a Chicago resident through the second baseman’s prime and later a co-founder of Baseball Prospectus. “Few could make that declare at any level of their profession, however for a second, a second resembling solely sports activities can ship and solely a faithful fan base can cherish, he was perfection in cleats.”
In 1989, Sandberg hit 30 residence runs whereas serving to the Cubs to a different NL East flag, and the next season, he led the league in each whole bases (344) and homers (40). The latter accomplishment made him the primary second baseman to steer a league since Rogers Hornsby in 1925, in addition to the primary with a minimum of 30 homers in back-to-back seasons.
Sandberg retired abruptly in June 1994 when he was simply 34 years outdated. “I misplaced the sting that it takes to play — the drive, the motivation, the killer intuition,” he stated on the time. He forfeited greater than $15 million in remaining wage. Later he revealed he was sad with the Cubs entrance workplace, and shortly after his retirement, his spouse Cindy filed for divorce. He sat out the remainder of the 1994 season (which was interrupted by a gamers strike in August) and all of ’95, however returned to the Cubs for the ’96 and ’97 seasons. On April 26, 1997, he hit his 267th residence run as a second baseman, breaking Joe Morgan’s profession report. He retired with 277 on the place and 282 general; Jeff Kent surpassed his positional report on October 2, 2004, and completed his profession with 351 on the place.
For his profession, Sandberg hit .285/.344/.452 (114 OPS+), ending with 2,386 hits and 344 stolen bases. Whereas he by no means reached the 30-homer, 30-steal plateau, he had a minimum of 20 of every in 1985, ’90, and ’91. Each his 68.0 WAR and 57.6 JAWS rank eleventh all time amongst second basemen. He was elected to the Corridor of Fame on his third strive, in 2005, as a part of a two-man class alongside Wade Boggs. In 2007, he started a six-year run as a minor league supervisor within the Cubs and Phillies organizations, and in August 2013, after 4 and a half months because the Phillies third base coach, he took over for fired supervisor Charlie Manuel. His tenure didn’t go nicely, lasting lower than two full years earlier than he resigned.
Sandberg’s recognition was fueled by WGN, an area tv superstation with nationwide attain because of the rising recognition of cable. As a result of Wrigley Area didn’t get lights till 1988, the Cubs have been the one baseball group on TV through the day for the primary six years of his profession in Chicago — a degree when the group was starved for fulfillment provided that it had maxed out at 81 wins from 1973–83. “He was a superhero on this metropolis,” Jed Hoyer, Cubs president of baseball operations, stated throughout a current broadcast. “You concentrate on (Michael) Jordan, Walter Payton and Ryne Sandberg all right here on the identical time, and I can’t think about an individual dealing with their fame higher, their accountability for a metropolis higher than he did.”
“Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a era of Chicago Cubs followers and can be remembered as one of many all-time greats in practically 150 years of this historic franchise,” stated Cubs government chairman Tom Ricketts. “His dedication and respect for the sport, together with unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and aggressive hearth have been hallmarks of his profession.”
Ryne Dee Sandberg was born on September 18, 1959, in Spokane, Washington, the youngest of 4 youngsters to Derwent Sandberg (“Sandy”), a mortician, and Elizabeth Barter Sandberg (“Libby”), a registered nurse. Sandy and Libby have been avid baseball followers, and named their second and fourth youngsters after ballplayers: Del (after former Phillies slugger Del Ennis) and Ryne (after Yankees pitcher Ryne Duren). 5 years older than Ryne, Del served as a mentor and coach to his youthful brother. “It was sort of onerous when he received a girlfriend in highschool,” Ryne instructed Individuals in 1984. “I all the time would get mad as a result of he would exit on a date and I needed to play ball.”
At North Central Excessive Faculty, Sandberg was a three-sport star. As a quarterback and punter, he earned All-American honors from Parade and set a Higher Spokane League passing yardage report that was ultimately damaged by future NFL quarterback Mark Rypien. As a 6-foot-2 ahead, he earned all-city honors twice and performed towards future Basketball Corridor of Famer John Stockton. He was a two-time all-city choice in baseball as an infielder, hitting .417 with 4 homers and main his 25-3 group to the state championship recreation in 1978. Although he confirmed off dazzling velocity (6.3 seconds within the 60-yard sprint) for scouts, most of them most popular the group’s catcher, Chris Henry, who could be drafted within the tenth spherical by the Mariners in 1979 and spend three seasons in skilled baseball. Phillies Northwest scout Invoice Harper was an exception. “I’ve dreamed of signing a child like this. He can do all of it,” Harper instructed NC Excessive coach Ken Eilmes.
School soccer powerhouses Oklahoma and Nebraska recruited Sandberg as a quarterback. He ultimately signed a letter of intent to play at Washington State, so most main league groups considered him as unsignable due to that dedication and didn’t ship scouts to see him. “What helped us was that the Main League Scouting Bureau had him as being price simply $4,000 and unsignable at that worth,” recalled Phillies crosschecker Wilbur “Moose” Johnson in Baseball America’s Final Draft Ebook. The Phillies noticed such hard-to-sign gamers as alternatives, so Harper and Johnson persuaded director of scouting Dallas Inexperienced to draft Sandberg. The group selected him within the twentieth spherical as a shortstop in 1978 and negotiated for him to forgo his soccer profession by signing him for a $25,000 bonus, about $20,000 greater than the going price for a choose that low. Harper and Johnson argued over which ones ought to name the hot-tempered Inexperienced. “I’m considering, ‘There goes my job and perhaps Moose’s too,” Harper instructed the Spokane Spokesman-Assessment’s John Blanchette in 2005. Inexperienced went silent for an extended second earlier than lastly telling Harper, “You recognize what, Invoice? He higher be capable to play.”
“I had no ambition to go to varsity and examine,” Sandberg confessed to Sports activities Illustrated’s Steve Rushin in 1992. “When the Phillies made a proposal, it made my determination simpler. I needed to get into the minor leagues younger, work on the recreation, study the way it labored, and perhaps, sometime, make an look within the majors… I by no means dreamed of (stardom).”
Sandberg started his minor league profession with Helena within the Rookie-level Pioneer League, the place he hit .311/.390/.421 with one homer and 15 steals. Although he struggled offensively at A-level Spartanburg the subsequent yr, he hit .310/.403/.469 with 11 homers and 32 steals for Double-A Studying as a 20-year-old in 1980, making the Jap League All-Star group, and adopted up with a .293/.352/.397 line for Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis in 1981; whereas he performed 117 video games at shortstop, he additionally spent 17 at second base, a place the place he beforehand had no skilled expertise. The Phillies, who received the NL East’s first-half title, referred to as him up in September, utilizing him primarily as as a pinch-runner and defensive alternative. He didn’t begin a single recreation, and didn’t even get to bat till his fifth recreation on September 11, 1981. (The Pirates’ Kent Tekulve struck him out.) Within the nightcap of a September 27 doubleheader towards the Cubs, a recreation that the Phillies would lose 14-0, Sandberg collected his first main league hit, an eighth-inning single off Mike Krukow, his lone hit in six at-bats throughout his cup of espresso.
After the 1981 season, Inexperienced left the Phillies to change into government vice chairman and basic supervisor of the Cubs. Along with hiring coaches and scouts away from his outdated group, he acquired outfielder Keith Moreland and pitcher Dickie Noles, each of whom he’d drafted, in December. Then, in January, Inexperienced swung one other commerce to get Bowa after his extension talks with the Phillies had damaged down, in trade for De Jesus. Inexperienced satisfied Philadelphia to throw Sandberg into the swap of shortstops regardless of Bowa’s having been way more beneficial than De Jesus in 1981 (1.8 WAR vs. -1.3). “Everybody in our group checked out (Sandberg) as a utilityman within the majors,” stated Phillies basic supervisor Paul Owens in 1984. With Sandberg’s inclusion, the commerce turned out to be one of many period’s most lopsided.
The Cubs, who had gone 38-63 through the strike-torn season whereas enjoying three sub-replacement degree infielders (second baseman Pat Tabler and third baseman Ken Reitz in addition to De Jesus), opened 1982 with Sandberg at third base subsequent to Bowa, with Bump Wills at second. Sandberg started the season in a 1-for-32 funk, however Inexperienced and supervisor Lee Elia caught with him. “A stoop like that will’ve crushed plenty of younger gamers, however we knew along with his internal power that it wouldn’t crush him,” Inexperienced instructed Sports activities Illustrated’s Douglas S. Looney in 1984.
Sandberg hit his first two main league homers on April 16 towards the Pirates, a fourth-inning two-run shot off Eddie Solomon and a solo homer off Paul Moskau within the sixth. He didn’t hit one other one till June 30, and ended the season with simply seven to go along with a .271/.312/.372 (90 OPS+) line, which he augmented with 32 steals. A September transfer to second base went nicely; between his glorious baserunning and protection (six runs above common between the 2 positions), his season was price 3.1 WAR. With Wills a free agent, the Cubs determined to make Sandberg’s transfer to second everlasting; Inexperienced traded for longtime Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey to fill the hole. Sandberg’s offensive contributions in 1983 have been modest (.261/.316/.351, 82 OPS+) save for his 37 steals, however he was 13 runs above common at second and claimed his first Gold Glove.
Elia — whose tenure on the helm was so irritating that it’s primarily remembered for an notorious, off-color tirade — received the axe in late 1983 and was changed by Jim Frey the next yr. The brand new supervisor challenged Sandberg, who had simply signed a six-year, $3.97 million contract, to hit for energy. “He appeared to view himself as a hit-and-run participant — advance the runner, maintain an inning going. I felt he was able to way more,” Frey instructed Looney. Sandberg stated the supervisor instructed him, “You will have the velocity and talent to hit 35 to 40 doubles a yr, eight to 10 triples and, in time, to start hitting some residence runs. You appear like you’re simply making an attempt to fulfill the ball, and I feel you may drive the ball.”
Sandberg homered twice within the first week of the 1984 season, and whereas he didn’t hit his third till the group’s thirty eighth recreation, by that time he was batting .325/.382/.519 — and the Cubs have been 17-9. On June 23, in an NBC Recreation of the Week towards the Cardinals, he catapulted to nationwide prominence with The Sandberg Recreation. The Cubs had trailed 9-3 after the highest of the sixth, however Sandberg capped a five-run rally with a two-run single off Neil Allen within the backside of the body, his third hit and third RBI of the day, although he was thrown out making an attempt to stretch the hit right into a double. He led off the ninth with a game-tying solo homer off Sutter, and after the Cardinals scored twice within the high of the tenth, he tied issues up with a two-run shot off Sutter within the residence half. Chicago went on to win 12-11 in 11 innings.
It was the Cubs’ yr — and Sandberg’s. Although they have been out and in of first place by means of the primary 4 months, the Cubs pulled forward of the Mets for good with a 20-10 August and received the NL East — for the primary time for the reason that introduction of division play in 1969 — by 6 1/2 video games. Sandberg hit .314/.367/.520 and led the league with 114 runs scored and 19 triples to go along with his 19 homers and 32 steals. His 8.5 WAR was greater than a full win forward of second-ranked Gary Carter, and he acquired 22 out of 24 first-place votes for MVP. Within the NLCS towards the Padres, Sandberg collected two hits in every of the primary two video games because the Cubs moved to inside a win of their first World Collection look since 1945. Whereas he hit safely within the different three video games, the Padres stormed again to win the sequence.
In his season-ending wrap-up for GQ (collected in The Coronary heart of the Order) Thomas Boswell wrote, “Sandberg seems like a full-blooming Pure… He simply has the present, or it has him… George Brett tells Sandberg, ‘I watch you each afternoon on cable TV. You’re my idol.’”
Although the Cubs backslid to 77 wins in 1985, Sandberg hit .305/.364/.504 (132 OPS+) whereas setting new profession highs with 26 residence runs and 54 stolen bases; it was solely the third 25-50 season to that time; up to now there have been simply 15, 4 of them prior to now two seasons. His 5.9 WAR was good for seventh within the league, however he couldn’t keep that degree; over the subsequent three seasons, Sandberg hit a mixed .280/.338/.423 (105 OPS+) whereas averaging 16 homers, 27 steals, and three.5 WAR. The Cubs continued to meander in 70-something win territory, ending no larger than fourth. Frey was fired two months into the 1986 season, although after spending the ’87 season within the WGN broadcast sales space, he changed Inexperienced because the group’s high baseball government, with the title of director of baseball operations.
Issues got here collectively once more for Sandberg and the Cubs in 1989, beginning with a brand new three-year, $6.3 million contract for 1990–92, signed in March; the deal, which included a $900,000 signing bonus to assist make up for his wage having lagged, made him the sport’s highest-paid second baseman. Sandberg hit .290/.356/.497 (130 OPS+) with 30 homers (a brand new profession excessive), 15 steals, and 6.1 WAR (seventh within the league). The Cubs, now managed by Don Zimmer, went 93-69 and received the NL East. Although Sandberg hit .400/.458/.800 in 20 plate appearances within the NLCS towards the Giants, the Cubs have been trounced 4 video games to 1 in what had change into a best-of-seven sequence since their final look.
Even because the Cubs slipped to 77 wins in 1990, Sandberg had his greatest yr on the plate, reaching 40 homers and 100 RBI for the primary time. To that he added 25 steals, and hit .306/.354/.559 (140 OPS+) with 7.1 WAR, good for third behind Barry Bonds and Lenny Dykstra. The All-Star Recreation was held at Wrigley Area that yr, and Sandberg not solely acquired extra votes than another NL participant at any place, however he additionally received the House Run Derby.
Sandberg’s homer output fell to 26 in every of the subsequent two seasons, however they have been hardly lesser ones relative to 1990. He produced a 138 OPS+ with 7.0 WAR in 1991 and a 145 OPS+ and seven.8 WAR (his finest mark since ’84) in ’92, rating second behind solely Bonds in each of these years. In March of the latter season, his ultimate one earlier than free company, he signed a four-year, $28.4 million extension, turning into baseball’s first $7 million man. In a Sports activities Illustrated cowl story, Tim Kurkjian quoted rival basic managers going excessive by blasting the Cubs for his or her “stupidity and timidity” in granting an extension (the Twins’ Andy MacPhail) and Sandberg for “unmitigated greed” (the Giants’ Al Rosen). The latter referred to as the sport’s rising salaries “Armageddon” and added, “I can’t see baseball surviving this.” Yeesh.
From 1982–92, Sandberg had been exceptionally sturdy, averaging 154 video games a yr and solely as soon as enjoying fewer than 153 (an ankle sprain sidelined him for practically 4 weeks in 1987). He caught unhealthy breaks in 1993, the primary of which was an errant fastball from the Giants’ Mike Jackson in spring coaching, which broke a bone in his left hand and precipitated him to overlook the Cubs’ first 21 video games. He didn’t hit his first homer till Might 15, and totaled simply 9 in 117 video games earlier than dislocating his proper ring finger whereas sliding into residence plate on September 13. For the yr he hit .309/.359/.412 (109 OPS+), nonetheless good for 3.4 WAR.
Sandberg began slowly in 1994, hitting .238/.312/.390 with simply 5 homers in 57 video games. On June 13, 10 days after amassing his 2,000th profession hit, the 34-year-old second baseman abruptly introduced his retirement, turning into the second Chicago sports activities icon sporting uniform no. 23 to take action in lower than a yr. (Michael Jordan had left basketball the earlier October and ended up enjoying baseball.) “I didn’t have what I felt I wanted to go on the sector ever day, give my best and dwell as much as the requirements I set for myself,” stated Sandberg at his press convention. “I’m not prepared and I don’t need to simply cling round. I need to be one of the best.”
Sandberg went residence to his two teenage youngsters, however his marriage was about to crumble. His spouse Cindy, his highschool sweetheart, had already filed for divorce in December 1993 however reconciled, then refiled one week after her husband’s retirement. Sandberg claimed that the home difficulties weren’t behind his retirement. In a 1995 autobiography, Second to House, he criticized Cubs GM Larry Himes, whom he stated “ripped (the group) to shreds proper earlier than my eyes” by letting Andre Dawson and Greg Maddux depart as free brokers and flipping practically the whole roster in a two-year span.
Sandberg sat out the 1995 season and remarried. On October 31, 1995, with Himes lengthy gone from the Cubs (he was fired in late 1994), Sandberg introduced he would return to the group, signing a $2.3 million contract. He homered 25 occasions, hit .244/.316/.444 (97 OPS+) and performed distinctive protection en route to three.2 WAR, however he couldn’t muster the identical sort of magic in 1997. On August 2, he introduced that he would retire on the finish of the season, and on September 20, two days after his thirty eighth birthday, the group held Ryne Sandberg Day.
Sandberg grew to become eligible for the Corridor of Fame on the 2003 BBWAA poll. He debuted with 49.2%, the second-highest share for a first-year candidate that yr (Eddie Murray sailed in with 85.3%) and the sixth highest general; former Cubs teammates Dawson (50%) and Lee Smith (42.3%) completed instantly above and under him. Sandberg’s share rose to 61.1% in 2004 whereas Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley have been elected, and he crossed the brink with 76.2% in ’05.
In his induction speech, from which Clark quoted on Sunday, Sandberg used the phrase “respect” 21 occasions. Inside, he defined the origins of his low-key type:
“I used to be taught you by no means, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your group or your supervisor and by no means, ever your uniform. Make an important play — act such as you’ve accomplished it earlier than… Hit a house run — put your head down, drop the bat, run across the bases, as a result of the title on the entrance is extra — much more vital than the title on the again.”
By itself, the assertion appeared innocuous sufficient, however additional parts of the speech left room for the interpretation that he was taking a shot at performance-enhanced sluggers and significantly his flamboyant and over-muscled former teammate Sammy Sosa, then extensively suspected of utilizing PEDs to gasoline his multi-season residence run binge:
“In my day, if a man got here to spring coaching 20 kilos heavier than what he left, he was thought-about out of form and was in all probability in hassle. He’d be below a microscope and the primary time he couldn’t beat out a base hit or missed a fly ball, he was in all probability shipped out. These guys sitting up right here didn’t pave the way in which for the remainder of us in order that gamers may swing for the fences each time up and neglect the way to transfer a runner over to 3rd.”
The criticism buoyed the Cubs devoted, who had soured on Sosa after his tenure with the Cubs had ended with the group’s late-2004 collapse, a smashed boombox, and an unceremonious commerce to the Orioles. Sandberg’s pictures at Sosa and different PED customers grew to become extra overt through the years. In December 2022, he joined a few different outspoken anti-PED critics (Frank Thomas and Jack Morris) on the Modern Baseball Period Committee panel that elected Fred McGriff, whereas Bonds and Roger Clemens acquired so little assist that their precise vote totals weren’t introduced. Sosa, although eligible to seem on the poll, was not up for consideration, however along with information that the Cubs would unveil a statue of Sandberg at Wrigley Area in the summertime of 2024 — an honor that positioned him in a pantheon with fellow franchise icons Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams — the Corridor of Famer took one other shot at Sosa, then estranged from the Cubs, by referring again to his personal speech:
“For me, enjoying the sport the fitting manner, with respect, was all the time what I used to be taught within the minor leagues,” Sandberg stated. “That was my Corridor of Fame speech. I feel I stated it 28 occasions. And there was slightly downside with the way in which that Sammy performed the sport. If that’s a roadblock, that’s a roadblock.”
Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa can be eligible for consideration once more this winter, up towards a brand new rule launched in March that might stop them from showing on subsequent ballots in the event that they fail to muster sufficient assist.
In retirement, Sandberg stayed related to baseball, working as a spring teacher for the Cubs. In December 2006, he was named supervisor of their A-level Peoria affiliate, which he managed to the Midwest League championship within the first of his two seasons there. He moved as much as Double-A Tennessee in 2009, then Triple-A Iowa, the place he earned Pacific Coast League Supervisor of the 12 months honors whereas main the group to an 82-62 report. After the 2009 season, Cubs supervisor Lou Piniella expressed the idea that Sandberg could be thought-about to succeed him — he deliberate to retire after the 2010 season — however as an alternative the job went to interim supervisor Mike Quade, who had taken over in August when Piniella resigned forward of schedule. Sandberg left the group to handle the Phillies’ Triple-A Lehigh affiliate, whom he led to the Worldwide League championship; Baseball America named him its Minor League Supervisor of the 12 months.
After one other yr at Lehigh, Sandberg joined Manuel’s employees because the Phillies third base coach. With the group 53-67 in mid-August, Manuel was fired, and Sandberg named interim supervisor. The Phillies, whose ageing core nonetheless included a number of key gamers from their 2007–11 run atop the NL East, went 20-22 the remainder of the way in which, completed fourth, and eliminated the interim tag from Sandberg’s title. They slipped to fifth with one other 73-89 report in 2014, nonetheless, and have been headed for a 99-loss season in ’15 when Sandberg resigned on June 26.
“Sandberg by no means appeared to attach along with his gamers, with gamers questioning the supervisor and training employees for the reason that starting of final season,” wrote MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “He additionally ruffled feathers with the way in which he benched former shortstop Jimmy Rollins in Spring Coaching 2014 and the way he introduced a plan to bench first baseman Ryan Howard that July.”
In 2016, Sandberg rejoined the Cubs group as an envoy for the group. In 2021, he started serving as a part-time analyst for Cubs video games on Marquee Sports activities Community. In 2024, he introduced that he had been identified with metastatic prostate most cancers. After present process chemotherapy and radiation, he was declared most cancers free in August of that yr, however in December he introduced that the most cancers had returned and was spreading to different organs.
In an period of bat flips and different outstanding on-field celebrations, Sandberg’s type of play appears quaint, as does his eschewing of endorsements and his guarded public persona. However as Sunday made clear, he’s nonetheless held up as a paragon of baseball greatness, not simply an icon however a great for others to comply with.
