I haven’t written in a long while. That’s not true… I have probably 40+ articles which I had started, but didn’t finish, or kept in my drafts reluctant to publish. Writing has been my way to talk sports, and especially talk Chicago Cubs baseball. I don’t know how this post will come off. It might be all over the place as I try to process what I am feeling. I might not know how to put those feelings into words. But today, as we are all remembering Ryno, I will do my best. It is my hope that you relate, find comfort, and share your feelings and memories as I do myself.
Remembering Ryno
It feels like Chicago Cubs baseball has always been in my blood. The driving force of my childhood, my dreams. It defined my adolescent years, coming home from school to catch the last few innings of early Spring baseball. Cubs games on WGN, became the soundtrack to my childhood. What I learned later on is because of WGN, Harry Carey, Ryno… Cubs baseball became the heartbeat of so many of us. Ryno is a connection which we all share and who we all celebrated, and now all mourn. Cubs baseball, especially in the 1980’s and 90’s isn’t a small community. The Cubs are apart of the nation’s history and the game’s history. Ryne Sandberg is the hero we all had while we were out on the sandlot.
The Cubs were so intertwined in who I was as a child. At the forefront of it all was Ryne Dee Sandberg.
As a younger me, I was on a travel baseball team. Back then there wasn’t a travel baseball team on every corner. To play travel, you really had to be one of the top 1% of players in the area. There weren’t many teams and tryouts would bring kids from all over to try and play. I won’t say I was a great player, but I was able to make the premier team in our area. I was an infielder and was defensively as sound as they come. Case in point, the year before I was the starting second baseman for another travel team which played roughly 60 games. Throughout that season I didn’t make a single error all season.
That next season is when I was selected to play on the area’s best team. I struggled; offensively, but more so defensively. For the first time in my playing career, I found myself missing routine ground balls, overthrowing first base and then underthrowing it… Not getting to second fast enough to cover for stealing baserunners. Somehow, this defensive wizard was knocked down a peg, reeling, and unsure on how to fix it.
Soon after, the coach moved me from the infield to the outfield. I was even more lost as I couldn’t judge a flyball to save my life. Heck! I was an infielder and hadn’t played outfield in years.
Somewhere near the midway point of that season, SI Kids! had an article where Ryno talked about defense, and had several pointers in there. So I started incorporating those pointers in practice. After some time I felt comfortable enough to ask the coach to try me again at second. I excelled, and I was back to my typically strong defensive self.
When Ryne Sandberg announced his retirement in June of 1994, I remember crying. I was a High School Junior… someone who should have been impenetrable to crying over a baseball player. I was obviously too cool for that, of course. But there I was, weeping over my hero walking away from the game that he, and I, loved.
He would come back to the game and play two more seasons. In the 1996 and 1997 campaigns he would hit 37 homers, drive in 156 RBI, score 139 runs, and slash .253/.313/.426. He would then hang them up for good after the 1997 season. Over his career, he would lead the league in WAR in 1984 (8.4). Lead the league in Runs on three occasions; 1984, 1989, and 1990 (114, 104, 116). Lead the league in Triples (19) in 1984. Lead the league in Home Runs in 1989 (40). He would also lead the league in Total Bases in 1990 (344). Ryno collected NINE consecutive Gold Gloves. Seven, that’s SEVEN Silver Slugger Awards. Sandberg appeared in 10 All Star Games and was the leading vote getter multiple times. The second baseman that hit 19 triples in 1984 would win the 1990 Home Run Derby. Finally, he was elected and inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Remembering Ryno: National Baseball Hall of Fame
When I learned that Ryno would be inducted into the Hall of Fame, we booked a trip to Cooperstown, immediately. At the time, my then girlfriend and I didn’t have much money… We were two broke kids living on our own who were (unbeknownst to us) expecting.
Come July, we knew had learned of our soon to be born gift. But even before that we asked friends and family to come with us. We asked because… I mean, the $12 a night to stay in the campground we booked was rough for us to spend back then. My girlfriend was too pregnant at that point and told me to go on without her. So… without her, my friend Droopy and I made the drive to New York for induction weekend. (Psst… get your car checked out, change the tires, and change the oil before you do that trip).
When there, we had the baseball time of our lives. Meeting the game’s biggest legends, all in one small town — this was quite literally baseball heaven. I crossed the street with Willie Mays. We listened to Stan Musial play “Take me out to the ballgame” on a harmonica. I could have shaved Rollie Fingers’ mustache.
But the main attraction, for me, was watching Ryno get inducted into baseball immortality.
What I didn’t know is, thousands upon thousands of other Cubs fans would make that trip with us. Oh, and there were tons of Boston Red Sox fans there, too.
My friend and I wanted to make it a point to play catch while there. Packing our our gloves and a few baseballs everywhere we went. There happens to be a lot of parks throughout Cooperstown, so we were able to toss the ball around on a few occasions. The coolest part was, at the campground we were at, hundreds of other baseball families. So, as two younger adults, Droopy and I organized a baseball game. He would coach one team and pitch, while I coached and pitched for the other. We were all sporting our Cubs or Red Sox hats and we were telling stories of Ryno or Wade Boggs. I took an at-bat as Boggs, hitting left-handed and punching a ball down the third baseline. I affectionately called a lil one Ryno as he made a great play at second base.
Together, in a place where Ryno was being immortalized, we shared a memory which I will remember forever with kids and families we didn’t know. Hopefully, a memory that they will all remember as well. When the news was circulating last night, Droopy texted me. I made it a point to tell him that our trip was one of my favorite memories I’ll ever have.
Remembering Ryno: Legends Never Die
The advice I read in that article so many years ago, I taught my kids. I teach that to the kids I coached for 16 years. I learned and passed down things from Ryno to the hundreds of kids I had the honor of coaching in the game of baseball. The most important, work hard and respect the game.
One last quick story before I go…
I coached kids who played a championship game on a field which saw several baseball stars play on it. Before the game, I made it a point to tell them we needed to play this game with respect. Respect to your opponent, respect to the field, respect to those who played before us, and with respect to the game itself. When you play on a diamond which would eventually see several players be inducted into the Hall of Fame, you have to respect it.
We ended up losing the game. However, through respect for the game and one another, my team insisted on handing the championship rings out. This prompted the other team to have both teams in team pictures. Together we personified class and respect, across two teams with different backgrounds coming together for our great game. This is how the legends live on forever. By telling their stories and passing on their influence. That is what Ryno would have liked.
Remembering Ryno…
