CHICAGO (AP) — Ryne Sandberg hopes Cubs followers keep in mind him as an alert and energetic defensive participant.
That’s precisely how they’ll see him any longer after they enter Wrigley Subject.
The membership unveiled a statue of the Corridor of Fame second baseman exterior the historic ballpark earlier than Sunday’s sequence finale towards the New York Mets. The 64-year-old Sandberg mentioned the ceremony was particularly touching after his most cancers prognosis earlier this 12 months.
“My life modified loads in 1984,” Sandberg mentioned of his MVP season, “however it was nothing like what occurred six months in the past.
“My ideas in the present day are love, life, household and pals.”
There was no scarcity of pals there because the statue, depicting Sandberg crouched and ready for a grounder, was devoted. Some teammates from Chicago’s 1984 and ’89 NL East champions have been there, together with the Cubs’ present gamers, who watched the ceremony from the lower-deck concourse railing.
Bob Costas emceed the ceremony, which additionally drew Corridor of Famers Andre Dawson, Ferguson Jenkins and Billy Williams. Actor Invoice Murray, a visual and vocal Cubs fan for many years, made the journey.
“I can’t actually say it’s what I assumed; it’s greater than what I assumed,” Sandberg mentioned. “To see all these guys come out, it was very touching.”
Sandberg got here to the Cubs from Philadelphia after the 1981 season as an add-on to a commerce that despatched Larry Bowa to Chicago for Ivan De Jesus. He made positive to thank Bowa, who was on the dais Sunday, for being “disgruntled” sufficient to need to depart the Phillies and demand the swap.
Two seasons later, Sandberg was the league MVP and helped the Cubs finish a virtually three-decade postseason drought with the NL East title.
Sunday’s ceremony passed off 40 years to the day he hit a pair of late homers in a nationally televised win over St. Louis.
He performed all however 13 video games throughout his 16-year profession with the Cubs and completed with a .285 batting common, 282 dwelling runs, 1061 RBIs and 9 Gold Gloves. The membership retired the 10-time All-Star’s No. 23 in 2005, the identical summer time he was inducted into the Corridor of Fame.
Sandberg introduced earlier this 12 months that he had been recognized with metastatic prostate most cancers. He’s stored well-wishers up to date on his progress by way of an Instagram account and mentioned final month that scans confirmed no indicators of most cancers.
The statue took its place subsequent to bronze tributes to fellow Corridor of Famers Jenkins, Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks. Groundskeepers reduce Sandberg’s quantity into the middle area grass earlier than the beginning of the weekend sequence towards the Mets.
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