Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg died Monday, July 28, at age 65 at his home, surrounded by family, following a battle with metastatic prostate cancer. The Chicago Cubs legend had been fighting the disease since announcing his diagnosis in January 2024.
Sandberg initially appeared to overcome the cancer after chemotherapy and radiation treatments, announcing in August 2024 that he was cancer-free. However, he posted on Instagram on December 10 that his cancer had returned and spread to other organs. Earlier this month, he announced he was continuing to fight while looking forward to making the most of every day with his loving family and friends.
Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts noted that Sandberg will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of the historic franchise. Ricketts indicated that Sandberg’s dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career.
Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Sandberg was selected out of North Central High School by Philadelphia in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft. He made his major league debut in 1981, going one for six in 13 games with the Phillies. In January 1982, he was traded to Chicago along with Larry Bowa for veteran infielder Ivan De Jesus in what became one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history.
During his 15 seasons with Chicago from 1982 to 1997, Sandberg established himself as one of baseball’s premier all-around players. He hit .285 with 282 home runs, 1,061 RBIs and 344 stolen bases. The 10-time All-Star won nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger Awards while becoming a cornerstone of Cubs history.
Sandberg’s most memorable season came in 1984 when he won National League MVP honors, batting .314 with 19 home runs, 84 RBIs, 32 steals, 19 triples and 114 runs scored. He led the Major Leagues with 19 triples and the National League with 114 runs scored that season. Chicago won the NL East, and Sandberg hit .368 in the playoffs, though the Cubs were eliminated by San Diego after winning the first two games of the National League Championship Series.
The 1984 season featured what Cubs fans still call “The Sandberg Game,” when he homered twice and drove in seven runs in a 12-11 victory over St. Louis in 11 innings on June 23. Chicago paid tribute to Sandberg and that game when it unveiled a statue of the infielder outside Wrigley Field on that same date in 2024.
Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer described Sandberg as a superhero in Chicago, comparing him to Michael Jordan and Walter Payton as athletes who were in the city at the same time. Hoyer expressed that he could not imagine a person handling their fame better or their responsibility for a city better than Sandberg did.
Sandberg led Chicago back to the playoffs in 1989, hitting .290 with 30 home runs as the Cubs won the NL East. He batted .400 in the NLCS, but Chicago lost to San Francisco in five games. In 1990, he set a career high with an NL-best 40 home runs and led the Major Leagues with 344 total bases, while driving in a career-best 100 runs. He repeated the 100 RBI mark in 1991 but never returned to the postseason.
When Sandberg retired after the 1997 season, he had hit the most home runs as a second baseman in major league history. His Cubs career statistics place him fourth all-time in franchise hits with 2,385, third in runs scored with 1,316, and fourth in stolen bases with 344.
Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux described Sandberg as a great teammate and player who led by example on the field and served as a mentor off it. Former Cubs manager Jim Frey noted that he had never seen a player work harder, and it seemed like the better Sandberg got, the harder he worked.
Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, receiving 76.2% of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his third year on the ballot alongside Wade Boggs. The Cubs retired his No. 23 that same season on August 28, 2005.
After his playing career, Sandberg managed the Philadelphia Phillies from August 2013 to June 2015, compiling a record of 119 wins and 159 losses. He got the interim job when Charlie Manuel was fired and resigned with the Phillies in the middle of a difficult 2015 season.
In his final days, Sandberg’s longtime double-play partner Shawon Dunston revealed that Sandberg wanted to speak with him, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace. Dunston shared that Sandberg “told us that he loved us and he loved all you fans too.”
The Cubs announced they will wear a special No. 23 patch to commemorate Sandberg for the rest of the 2025 season. On Saturday in their home game against the Orioles at Wrigley Field, all Cubs players wore Sandberg No. 23 jerseys without their names on the back, using the iconic pullover blue jerseys that Sandberg wore during his time with the team in the 1980s. The jerseys will be auctioned after the game with all proceeds donated to cancer research.
