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On June 23, 1984, Ryne Sandberg broke out on a national stage as a 24-year-old second baseman with an incredibly bright future. On June 23, 2024, “Ryno” became immortalized outside of the ballpark he called home for so many years.
Sandberg’s No. 23 was retired by the Chicago Cubs in 2005, and Sunday afternoon, in front of hundreds of Cubs fans who gathered outside Wrigley Field, his statue was unveiled in a ceremony that honored his Hall of Fame career and his electrifying performance 40 years ago.
Rows of seats were set up across Gallagher Way. They were filled with the likes of Sandberg’s family (including his wife, Margaret, his children and his grandchildren), Cubs front office personnel, former Cubs players (many of them Sandberg’s old teammates) and even actor and noted Cubs fan Bill Murray.
The statue dedication drew a massive crowd — to which Sandberg later said he was “pleasantly surprised with the amount of Cub fans that wrapped all the way around the street” — and lining the railings of the outer concourse of the ballpark, the 2024 players and coaching staff.
On stage with him during the ceremony were his middle infield partners Larry Bowa and Shawon Dunston, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and legendary broadcaster Bob Costas, who called Sandberg’s most famous game (more on that in a second).
It all led to the official unveiling of Sandberg’s statue, featuring him on the balls of his feet at second base.
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He wanted the statue to depict him as a defender in a ready position because “defense was always No. 1 for me.” It may not be modeled off of an iconic image from his career like many other statues for others are, but what it does depict is something he wanted to be remembered for — always ready to make a defensive play.
All the pageantry, the kind words, the cheers, the tribute video and the opportunity to throw out the first-pitch were welcome happenings from the day. Sandberg is an all-time great on the North Side of Chicago. For a franchise that has experienced so much bad throughout its existence, he represented some of the good that Cubs fans have gotten to see over the years.
So, the team honoring Sandberg in this way was beyond well-deserved. Like Cubs legends Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ron Santo and Harry Caray — the first four line “Statue Row” on Gallagher Way — it was the perfect way to celebrate the career of someone who was the hero for many, many fans.
‘The Sandberg Game’
Costas put it best as he spoke about Sandberg: “How many baseball games have a title?”
Many Hall of Famers are known for long, successful careers versus a singular moment or game (Costas did mention Willie Mays and his famous 1954 World Series catch as an exception). Not even the most important game in Cubs history, the one that a 108-year championship drought, has a name attached to it.
“Game 7 in 2016 isn’t “The Ben Zobrist Game,'” Costas said. “It’s not ‘The Kyle Hendricks Game.’ It’s not ‘The Kris Bryant Game.’ It’s not ‘The David Ross Game.’ It doesn’t have a title.”
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But Sandberg has “The Sandberg Game,” which happened exactly 40 years before the statue ceremony Sunday. There are a few reasons why that game became synonymous with him.
For one, it was NBC’s “Game of the Week,” so it was nationally televised on June 23, 1984. It was also against the rival St. Louis Cardinals. On its own, that would feel like a pretty big matchup.
Then you have what happened in the late innings: Trailing 7-1 early on, the Cubs rallied to make it a 9-8 ballgame as they went into the bottom of the ninth. The problem? St. Louis’ Hall of Fame closer Bruce Sutter — who’d go on to save 45 games in ’84 — was on the mound.
Up to the plate stepped Sandberg, who was not yet “on the map,” so to speak. But he quickly made himself known to the national audience, smacking a leadoff homer into the left-field bleachers to tie up the ballgame.
The next inning, after the Cardinals made it a two-run game in the top of the 10th, Sandberg again stepped to the plate to face Sutter, this time with two outs and a runner on first. And just like he had the inning before, Sandberg tied the game with a mighty swing of the bat, sending another ball over the left-field wall.
The Cubs went on to win in the 11th on walk-off single by Dave Owen, putting a bow on a day owned by Sandberg. His two home runs were part of a 5-for-6, 7-RBI performance. He’d been having a great season to that point in ’84 as he was hitting .332 with a .938 OPS after that game, but this is the game that established to a national audience that Sandberg was an MVP candidate, and that those Cubs were real (they eventually made it to the National League Championship Series).
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“In ’84, the Cubs went from ‘lovable losers’ to pennant contenders,” Costas said, “and this is the game that marked Ryne Sandberg as a front-runner for MVP, marked the Cubs as no longer a laughingstock but as a contender.”
Sandberg went on to win the NL MVP that season thanks to his .314 average, 19 home runs, 19 triples, 114 runs, 84 RBIs and 32 stolen bases — to go along with his first of 10 consecutive All-Star nods, his first of seven Silver Sluggers and his second of nine straight Gold Gloves. On that Saturday afternoon in June, though, he didn’t necessarily realize the magnitude of the game for him and the team.
He said it was just a normal win to him, albeit an important one against a bitter rival in a division race. But then the Cardinals asked him to join their postgame show, and as he crossed the field before and after, he heard the crowd erupting. Then, in the clubhouse, he couldn’t even see his locker because of the amount of media waiting for him.
“It started to dawn on me that, ‘OK, maybe this is a little bit different of an experience here,'” Sandberg said.
The fact that it’s considered the launching pad for the rest of the Cubs’ season is what really hammers home that game’s importance for him.
“I think it really settled in later on and then after that season,” Sandberg said, “when the fans and people talked about that game being a stepping stone to getting to the playoffs. I think that’s when it really dawned on me.”
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“The Sandberg Game” has taken on a life of its own over the years, but it remains closely tied to the Cubs’ legend.
If you’re going to be linked to one game forever, it might as well be one as special as Sandberg’s 40 years ago.
“When that game ended, the press went into the Cardinal clubhouse — as well as the Cub clubhouse — to talk to [St. Louis’] manager, Whitey Herzog, always good for a quote,” Costas said. “They said, ‘What did you think of what Sandberg did today?’ And he said, ‘I thought I was watching Baby Ruth.’ Well, ever since then, and today, especially, Ryne Sandberg joins Babe Ruth’s called shot in the 1932 World Series at Wrigley Field as part of everlasting Wrigley lore.”
Sandberg’s fresh perspective
Six months before he took the stage outside Wrigley Field, Sandberg revealed that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. In late May, he shared via Instagram that there was no detection of cancer in recent testing, and Sunday, he talked about his battle with the disease.
“With what I’ve gone through, [being here today] was clearly a goal,” Sandberg said. “To be here, this was a guarantee for me, and I kind of reverted back to my baseball days of having goals and my attitude. I worked every day toward something, and that’s what I’ve done.
“It’s worked, and like I told the fans, I’m feeling fine and everything’s going in the right direction.”
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Sandberg was open about his battle with cancer on social media because he didn’t want to hide what he was going through.
He didn’t want to have to keep a low profile. He didn’t want fans wondering what was going on with him when he didn’t attend Cubs Convention or spring training, or if he did make public appearances but didn’t look quite like himself.
Fans responded to the news by flooding Sandberg with support, both on his social media and through sales of “Ryno Strong” shirts.
There were shirts and signs mixed in throughout the Gallagher Way crowd Sunday, and fans chanted “Ryno! Ryno! Ryno!” as he walked onto the stage. Sandberg reciprocated their affection with a “thank you” to the Cubs faithful in his speech. He credits their support in helping his recovery.
“As for the fans, you always made it clear how you felt,” Sandberg said. “You carried me my entire career. But you have taken it to a whole new level, and I have felt every one of your posts on social media, and in person by your comments. You are my friends as well, and now you have carried me through months of chemo and radiation. I’ll never be able to thank you properly.”
When Sandberg first found out about this honor 18 months ago, he pondered what he’d say about the Cubs fans, about the organization, about “The Sandberg Game” and about that ’84 season.
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But what he’s gone through the past few months changed his perspective on things. This day wasn’t just about being honored for a Hall of Fame baseball career anymore. It was about celebrating the people who have always been around him.
“My life changed a lot in 1984, but that’s nothing compared to what had happened six months ago,” he said. “So, my thoughts today are instead about love, life, family and friends. My teammates fall into all those categories, but until my cancer diagnosis, I guess I never fully understood that.
“The number of people in baseball that have reached out to me this year is astonishing. Some I haven’t had any contact [with] in 20 or 30 or 40 years. I feel that love now. It was always there, but I was too busy grinding out an extra 60 ground balls every morning to know that it was happening. We are what we are, and that was me. I love you guys.”
Sandberg’s lasting legacy
Over a quarter-century since his playing career ended, Sandberg’s name still carries weight in the Cubs’ clubhouse.
The team, battling its way through a tough first half of the season, took time before their 5-2 loss to the New York Mets to gather outside in order to show their appreciation for the Hall of Famer.
“As a middle infielder, getting to be around him and the legacy he set here is pretty cool,” Nico Hoerner said.
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Hoerner, like many Cubs second basemen who have followed in Sandberg’s footsteps since he retired in 1997, has felt the desire to play up to the standard set by the Hall of Famer.
“Talk about a player who did everything on the baseball field,” Hoerner said. “I always want to be able to impact the game in every way, and I’ve always set out to do that. He’s one who did that for his entire career.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell started his career right around the time Sandberg’s was coming to a close. Counsell doesn’t necessarily remember the few times they faced each other, but he does recognize the imposing presence Sandberg had on the field.
The two have met and spoken in the years since, most recently at a Cubs charity event Thursday, and Counsell still is impressed in those interactions.
Sandberg’s career has long been over, but he remains a massive presence in the Cubs’ world.
Whether it’s for fans or players or coaches or anyone else, Sandberg is someone people point to as an example of greatness, both as a ballplayer and as a human being.
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Sunday, then, was a day that encapsulated everything he brought to Wrigley Field for so long. He brought the crowds. He brought some good times. He brought his proper work ethic and mentality. And most of all, he brought a love for the Cubs.
Honoring him with a statue, immortalizing him outside of the iconic ballpark, was the perfect way to give him that love back.
“Having a chance to talk to him for a couple of minutes, his humility is inspiring and amazing,” Counsell said. “I know he’s very humbled by this weekend and proud of it, and he absolutely should be. It’s a great moment for a great Cub.”
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