Ed Meese once said of pornography, “I know it when I see it.” I don’t doubt that. And when it comes to Hall of Fame baseball players, I feel the same way. Numbers never told the whole story of Ryne Sandberg. They told a lot. When he retired he had hit more homers than any second baseman, ever. He has the highest fielding percentage of any second baseman, ever. He won an MVP award, got jobbed out of another, hit 40 homers without the cream or the clear and he had a day when he gave Whitey Herzog and Bruce Sutter nightmares and made the Cubs relevant again.
He had a Hall of Fame baseball career, and today, it all became official. I knew it when I saw it, and in July in Cooperstown, so will everybody else. Ryne Sandberg’s a Hall of Famer.
I think, in hindsight, I knew he was a Hall of Famer just about the same time I started taking him for granted. As a kid my favorite Cub was Shawon Dunston. Why wasn’t it Ryne? Because that was too easy. He was too good. It didn’t take any effort to root for Ryne Sandberg. You knew what he was going to do. If somebody hit the ball to him, they were out. If a pitcher threw him a good curveball he was going to be out…but if they hung it, they were going to pay dearly.
In the history of baseball, no player has ever looked worse on one curveball, only to have the pitcher go back to the well and get smoked.
Harry Caray paid him the ultimate compliment. In tense situations, when the Cubs needed an out, any ball hit Ryne’s direction elicitied a “Don’t worry!” from Harry. Ryne was clutch. We didn’t always appreciate it like we should have.
He was at his best in those rare moments when the Cubs were playing for something important. He was the guy you wanted when there was a play to be made, either in the field or at the plate. He looked like a Hall of Famer. He played like a Hall of Famer. Apparently he knew before anybody else.
He was cool. He was never rattled. He wouldn’t say s@#$, if he had a mouth full of it. How embarassing is it now to see that during their time together Mark Grace got so much more attention than Ryne did?
Mark Grace will go to the Hall of Fame, too. The difference is that he’ll have to pay to get in, walk around and look at Ryne’s plaque.
You can say what you want about his homers that just found the Wrigley basket, or all the times he didn’t dive for a grounder. God knows, I said it. But I never, not once, didn’t realize what a great baseball player he was.
He had it all. Speed, power, the best and most accurate arm a second baseman’s ever had. Does anybody doubt that he wouldn’t have been a great third baseman if he’d stayed there, or a great shortstop?
Where will the Cubs hang his flag? Santo and Banks are on the left field foul pole. Billy Williams is on the right field pole.
How about hanging his in the left center gap, off the front of the basket?
It’ll drive the Cardinals fans crazy.
It’s perfect.
Here’s to you, Ryne Sandberg. The guy who made it look so easy it took two extra years for voters to figure out what we knew all along.
Make that, “Hall of Famer, Ryne Sandberg.”
Ed Meese may had said that about pornography, but I said it first.
Congratulations Ryno, make sure you sing Take Me Out on a Sunday Night Ballgame, just so Joe Morgan will have to interview his fellow Hall of Famer.
Cheers to Ryno! He’s the picture perfect 2Bman.
First time I saw Ryno play, it was in 1982, I went to Chicago for the retiring of Banks’ #14.
I called my dad and told him the Cubs had their third baseman for the next 15 years.
He never dove for balls, because he never HAD to. Like Ripken at short, Sandberg was always re-positioning himself for the hitter and the pitch.
Like Banks, Billy, Santo and the rest, I wish he coulda gotten a ring…
Two of my favorite players growing up got the nod today. Too bad Straw pissed it all away. It might have been a trifecta….
Opening Day 2005…
Ryne Sandberg’s #23 flag rises up the right-field foul pole as a full house listens to him say 19 words congratulating them for all of their support over his career.
Mark Prior then pitches a four-hit shutout while Carlos Beltran hits a homer as the Cubs win 3-0.
Oh my, how that would be nice…
They didn’t raise me until 2 seasons ago. Why would the turnaround on Ryno’s be any faster? Do the cubs only retire HOFs numbers?
Hey Santo, they NEVER retired my number. And they’ve given the number out to this scrawny stiff who pitches for them now,
This is a great day for the Cubs and Cub fans everywhere.
My first hero growing up is in the HOF Walter Payton. Now my teenage years one Ryne Sandberg is too.
Ron, the Cubs usually retire guys numbers when they go into the Hall of Fame. They kept waiting on yours because they thought you’d be going in too. Then they decided it might be nice to do it before you died.
Firstly, a shout out to my boy on HOF.
Secondly, impressed by the erudition desipio readers…potter stewart, impressive.
Thirdly, less impressed by Ron Santo’s number. Yes only HOF numbers are retired.
Fourthly, the Yanks our out of the Beltran Derby and Delgado may be going to the orioles.
Sign Beltran, and trade Sosa to the Mets when the market has dried up.
Here’s to dreaming.
Here’s to ryno’s wife
You mean that No. 10 wasn’t retired for me?
Damn.
They retired 10 for me, right? I’m the last one to wear it.
Yes Bruce, the organization that wouldn’t even bother to fly you in from Iowa when you were named interim manager retired no. 10 in your honor.
Every time there was a runner on first the televison camera would show Ryno, glove concealing his mouth, as he told Shawon who would cover second for the double play. Did anyone ever see Ryno swing at a first pitch? Cool as hell he always let it go by, even when pitchers woke up to the fact that they could throw one over the plate and go up 0-1 in the count. Ryno remained cool even when the count was 0-2. Look up "steady" in the dictionary. His picture is used as the illustration.
I remember Ryno diving for one ball.
Good take on all of this, Andy. I wore my "23" Cooperstown Collection cap in my office this afternoon (the wardens were out of the office) and I told my secretary that this was one of my five happiest moments as a Cubs fan. And our staff psychologist said he was glad for two reasons: one, because he’s a Cubs fan, and two, because he didn’t have to listen to me bitch about it anymore.
I also remember seeing Ryno play a solid 3B in 1982 and he immediately became my favorite player. In 1984, my parents gave me personalized license plates for my car: CUBS 23. I still have those plates nine cars later. Every now and then, I’ll get a thuimbs up (or a middle finger) on the highway. Sometimes, a dumbass will ask me "Who wears 23?". But a lot of Cardinal fans will ask "Why do you still have those? He’s retired.". I can now say "Because he’s a Hall of Famer".
Jam it in your ass.
No, it wasn’t, so jam it up your arse.
I remember getting in an argument with a kid in 2nd grade because this punk thought Sandberg’s first name was "Ryan." Obviously, this moron kid was a Cub fan. I think he grew up to form Ivy Chat.
KD, you’re misappropriating the term "Ivy." See you in court!
First off, Fergie, you’re going to have to share your big day with MadDog, since you both wore 31.
Second of all, Ryno WAS my favorite player. I was there, man. The best, and most surreal day of my life was Ryno day in 1984. The Cubs just DIDN’T do things like that, not against the Cardinals, not against anyone. I didn’t know what I was watching, I didn’t know or care how much I had drank, and I don’t remember getting home. My mind was completely blown.
Lastly, They’ll probably save the flag day until some weekend when they play the Cardinals.
Leon–
The Cubs are retiring me in your honor for all of the eight-balls you sent through your nostrils.
Question– did anybody dare wear #23 after Ryno retired? Methinks not.
Leon–
The Cubs are retiring me in your honor for all of the eight-balls you sent through your nostrils.
Question– did anybody dare wear #23 after Ryno retired? Methinks not.
The closest anyone came to wearing #23 was Eric Karros,he wore #32 instead.
I was the last guy to wear #23 BEFORE Ryno.
I’m sure 23 hasn’t been worn since his retirement. I liked them giving 17 to Bobby Hill just a few months after Grace left, though. That was a good slap in Mark’s face.
Good call on doing the retirement whne the Cardinals are in town, Sloth. My only concern would be that so many of those douchebags come north for those games that they’d be disrespectful during the ceremony and it would keep some fans who really want to see it out of the park.
Screw you, Joe Morgan…the real 2B is taking your place…dumbass.
…or was it Harold Reynolds?
Actually, Mark Grace WILL get into the Hall of Fame if his Phoenix media buddies, his imaginary husband who’s serving in Iraq (I vividly remember the game last year in which he proudly announced that he’d been wearing a T-shirt around Phoenix given to him by the wife of a soldier that read "My Husband Is Serving In Iraq"), and all the fat chicks he slept with get Hall of Fame votes. I just thought you should all know.
with the talk about blyleven, gossage and sutter, is rick aguilera a future hall of famer? he’s over 300 in the save category.
Calvin Murray wore #17 last year. That should be a big slap in the face.
Here’s one for the dopey trivia dept…
There’s only one pitcher with less than 1000 walks and more than 3000 strikeouts. Either this season or next, there will be another.
They both wore #31 for the Cubs…
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