One of the greatest second basemen of all time steps away from the game, only to return for two more seasons later
On June 13, 1994, longtime Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. At the time, the team leader felt he had nothing left to offer to baseball, walking away from the game he loved. But it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
Although originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies, Sandberg was traded along with Larry Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Iván DeJesús just before the 1982 season. ‘Ryno’ would go on to become one of the best players of his generation and an all-time great at the keystone, making it one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history.
At the time of his announcement, Sandberg was sure his MLB career was over. He sat out the entire 1995 season before returning to the team in 1996, where he hit 25 home runs in his first year back. His play fell off in ’97, and he finally decided to call it quits for good. This time, however, he was able to go out on his terms… a much more fitting way for a player of his stature to exit the sport.
Despite never winning a World Series, he was known for his flair for the dramatic. One only has to watch his never-say-die heroics in a 1984 game against the rival St. Louis Cardinals to attest to that. It became known throughout baseball as the ‘Sandberg Game’, the story of which can be seen HERE in a terrifically told tale.
Ryne Sandberg would go on to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. His number 23 is one of only seven that have been retired in the Chicago Cubs’ long and storied history.
