Cub fans and the larger baseball world are mourning the passing of HOF second baseman, Ryne Sandberg. Someone suggested that he held out long enough so that the recent HOF’ers would have their day. Whether that’s true or not, it speaks to the respect he had for the game.
Rather than highlighting his career stats or citing the nationally televised game that made him a national figure, I’ll veer to what made him so great and different. There was nothing flashy about him other than his glove work. For the most part, during his career, he was pretty uninteresting which was a good thing. He didn’t do anything off the field to screw with is HOF trajectory. Other players talk about whey they played the game, but most don’t talk about respecting the game and other players, but he lived by that ideal. He played the game correctly, both technically and fundamentally, although he had holes in his swing.
Despite achieving success on the field, he never big-timed fans or the media. As a player he wasn’t loquacious, but he was honest and didn’t attack anyone else. During his HOF speech Sunday, Ichiro spoke often about respecting the game and the fans and always being prepared to play at his best. Obviously, players, even HOF players are going to fall short, but in Ichiro’s Sandberg’s and Cal Ripken Jr, it would never be because of unprofessionalism or apathy. As fans we naturally assume that every professional athlete cares so much because they are getting paid handsomely to play a game for a living that they’re going to be professionals.
Unfortunately, my high school career ended when Ryne came to the Cubs so I didn’t have the opportunity to imitate or emulate his play on field. The fact that I played first base is irrelevant. However, I appreciated how he went about his business-which is something I tried to do in everything I do-be a professional. As a freelance writer covering baseball players, I’ve always done my job professionally and treated everyone I’ve interviewed with respect.
Ryno surprised the baseball world when he took a job managing in the Cubs system and starting at the lowest level, riding by buses in the MWL. He was a recent HOF inductee but wanted to work his way up through the system. Subsequently, I’ve had he opportunity to interview several former players and ask about their experiences. All were positive and appreciated learning to play ball the correct way. I also remember when he came to Kane County with the Peoria Chiefs and spent over an hour before each game signing autographs for everyone and anyone. While making sure everyone left happy, he made sure that the session wouldn’t negatively impact the young ballplayers.
While his managing career arc seemed destined for Chicago, his participation in the AFL was a positive as he was able to work with several organizations and spread his wings. He happened to be a great resource for me that year and I appreciate his generosity.
2016 was the greatest season in Cubs history, but 1984 may have been the most important season in the last half century. Ryne Sandberg was as important to that team’s success as anyone-although he’d deny it. He always played for the name on the front of the jersey and not the back and for that all of Cubdom should be grateful.
