Baseball legend Ryne Sandberg died at the age of 65.
The former Sandberg team, the Chicago Cubs, announced its death on Monday, July 28 via X.
“With great sadness, we share that Ryne Sandberg died today,” read their statement alongside a photo of the athlete.
No cause of death has been given.
Sandberg revealed in January 2024 that he was fighting Metastatic prostate cancer. He announced that he was without cancer seven months later. In December 2024, he shared that his cancer had returned and spread.
“Ryne Sandberg was a hero of a generation of fans of Chicago Cubs and will remember one of the greats of all time in almost 150 years of this historic franchise,” said the executive president of Cubs TOM RICKETTS said in a statement On behalf of the Sandberg team and family. “His dedication and respect for the game, as well as her relentless fire, her grain, her competition fire were the characteristics of his career.”
Ryne Sandberg in 1990.
(Photo by focus on sport / getty images)Following Rracketts: “He was extremely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador for the baseball game, but above all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as husband, father and grandfather.”
Sandberg, who was inducted at the fame of fame in 2005, spent most of his 16 seasons in the major baseball league as the second basic player for Cubs. He began his professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981 before being exchanged in Chicago the following year. In 1984, Sandberg was appointed MVP of the National League; In 1990, he struck 40 circuits, more than any other player that year. Sandberg struck 282 circuits and had an average of the stick of 0.285 during his mandate as a large league. He also stole 344 bases, driven in 1,061 points and marked nine Gold Glove prices.
In 1992, Sandberg signed an unprecedented contract of $ 28.4 million to play another four years at Wrigley Field. (He finally retired in 1997.)
According to The New York TimesA Illustrated sports Report published at the time of the signing of the Sandberg contract described it as “A shy and unpretentious guy who is a lock for the temple of fame. He does not drink, does not test positive, does not make his wife’s car, does not kick the dog, does not leave the camp or say stupid things to the press. The most controversial thing he does is to start a group every 25 games. »»
Sandberg was married to the first woman Cindy From 1979 to July 1995. The ex shared two children, Justin and Lindsey. In August 1995, he married his second wife, Margaretwho had three children from a previous marriage.
While he had marked the story with the Cubs and was loved by the fans, a victory of the World Series remained elusive for Sandberg.
“I think that fans of the cubs focus on the title” Lovable Losers “,” he said in 2011, adding: “I think it would be the biggest party for a winning team, and the party would be around the world. »»
Five years later, the team finally won the series for the first time in 108 years. Sandberg had, at that time, returned to the cubs as an ambassador. He received an honorary ring from World Series.
