Ryne Sandberg, Chicago Cubs Second Baseman and Hall of Famer, Dead at 65

Many are surprised when I tell them I'm a baseball fan -- especially a Chicago Cubs fan. The high school I attended was a short walk to Wrigley Field, so I have fond memories of school-sponsored Cubs Days and even ditching class to be a bleacher bum. Second baseman, infielder, and all-around team player Ryne Sandberg was a big part of that. The boy I liked at the time was totally into Cubs baseball, so that made me even more invested. Even without that unrequited romance, I have always greatly admired the intelligence and the artistry of the game of baseball, and certain players who embodied it so well.

Ryne "Ryno" Sandberg was one of those intelligent artists. Through his 15 years as a Cubbie, Sandberg hit .285 with 282 homers, 1,061 RBIs and 344 steals. He made 10 All-Star teams and won the Home Run Derby in 1990. Sandberg also collected nine Gold Gloves. He's legendary not just for his incredible play, his teamwork, and the record to show it, but for his strength and prowess coupled with elegance and humility.

I remember sitting in front of the television, watching live what would come to be known as "The Sandberg Game," where he hit two home runs, batted in seven runs, and helped the Cubs tie for an extra inning, then win over the St. Louis Cardinals 12-11. That was delightful, and one of the highest highs that far outmatched the lowest of lows that only a Cubs fan knows. Sandberg became the 1984 Most Valuable Player because of that singular game.

Sandberg continued his career with the Cubs, distinguishing himself and elevating the game and his team, despite what would be mostly seasons of lows. Sandberg retired as a player first in 1994, then came back before a final retirement in 1997. At the time of his retirement, he held the major league baseball record for career home runs (282) by a second baseman.

In 2005, Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 76.2 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on his third year on the ballot. That same year, the Cubs retired No. 23, an incredible honor.

In 2006, Sandberg moved into coaching and management in both the major and minor leagues. But even though he wore other franchise colors during that time, he remained Cubbie Blue through and through. On the 40th anniversary of the Sandberg Game in 2024, the Cubs celebrated his achievements for their franchise with a statue outside Wrigley Field. Sandberg holds this distinction with fellow Cubs players Ernie "Mr. Cub" Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and broadcaster extraordinaire Harry Caray. It was a significant career high, but also a personal one. In January 2024, Sandberg announced that he was battling metastatic prostate cancer, and after rounds of treatment, in May, he was declared cancer-free. Tragically, in December 2024, Sandberg announced that the cancer had returned and had spread to other organs.

On Monday, Ryne Sandberg lost his cancer battle. The Hall of Famer is dead at 65.

I love to play baseball. I'm a baseball player.

I've always been a baseball player. I'm still a baseball player. That's who I am. -Ryne Sandberg pic.twitter.com/Iw0PcaPh9z
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) July 29, 2025

Ryne Dee Sandberg was born on September 18, 1959, in Spokane, Washington. His parents, Sandy and Libby, named their youngest son after New York Yankees pitcher Ryne Duren. He was a multi-sport star at North Central High School, earning Parade Magazine All-America honors as a football quarterback. He signed a letter of intent to attend Washington State University on a football scholarship, but he chose to pursue a baseball career after the Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft.
He was called up by the Phillies near the end of the 1981 season and made his major-league debut on September 2. With future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt entrenched at third base, Philadelphia traded Sandberg and Larry Bowa to the Chicago Cubs for Iván de Jesús during the offseason. At his first Cubs spring training, Sandberg asked equipment manager Yosh Kawano for number 14, which he had worn in high school. Unaware of the franchise history (that was Ernie Banks’s number), he was politely given number 23, which he helped transform into an iconic number of its own in Chicago sports.
Near the end of 1982, Sandberg switched to second base and in 1983 he became the first National League player to win a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in his first full year at a new position. Before the 1984 season, Cubs manager Jim Frey challenged his athletic ex-quarterback in spring training: “How come you’re not more of a power hitter and not an MVP?” Sandberg began pulling inside pitches for home runs and transformed his game in 1984. His two home runs in The Sandberg Game gave him a new career-high of nine and he finished with 19 for the season, lifting the Cubs to their first NL East Division crown and a postseason berth for the first time since 1945. He easily won the NL’s Most Valuable Player Award to go with his first Silver Slugger Award and his second Gold Glove Award.

When you think of Chicago sports legends who elevated and transcended their game, the Bulls' Michael Jordan is the first name that comes to mind. There is Bears legend "Sweetness" Walter Payton, and Ryne Sandberg can be counted among that number as well.

"He was a superhero in this city," Jed Hoyer, Cubs president of baseball operations, said during a TV broadcast of the team's game 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."

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