Ryne Sandberg: A Look at His Hall of Fame Career

Ryne Sandberg broke into the big leagues as a September call-up with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981. Other than getting his first big league hit he did not make that much of impression with the Phillies, hitting just .167 in 13 games. In the off-season the Phillies traded shortstop Larry Bowa to the Chicago Cubs for fellow shortstop Ivan DeJesus, in the trade the Phillies threw in Ryne Sandberg. Little did they now at the time that they would be trading a future Hall of Famer.

In his first two seasons with the Cubs Ryne Sandberg proved to be a solid major league ballplayer hitting .266 with 15 homeruns and 102 runs batted in. He also proved to be a solid fielding 2^nd baseman by winning his first gold glove. But 1984 would be Sandberg's breakout year. Ryne Sandberg was named the National League Most valuable Player in 1984 helping the Cubs reach the postseason for the first time since 1945. He would hit .314 with 19 home runs and 84 RBI's. His actual coming out party came on June 23 when he went 5 for 6 with two home runs and 7 RBI's. His first home run came in the ninth inning off of Future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter to tie the game. His second home run came an inning later, also off of Bruce Sutter, to once again tie the game. After that game the world knew exactly who Ryne Sandberg was.

Over the next nine seasons Ryne Sandberg would average 25 home runs and 81 runs batted in. His best season would be 1990 when he led the league with 40 home runs while driving in a career best 100 runs.

During that time Sandberg was a 10 time all-star and also won 9 gold gloves.

After a slow start in 1994 Sandberg retired citing that he no longer had the desire to play. He would however return in 1996 and play two more seasons with the Cubs. Sandberg would retire for good following the 1997 season. In his 15 seasons with the Cubs Sandberg hit 282 home runs, the fifth most in franchise history. His 2385 hits also rank fourth in team history. Of his 282 home runs 277 of them were hit as a second baseman, making him the all-time leader for second baseman when he retired. He has since been passed by Jeff Kent. Ryne Sandberg also retired with a .989 fielding percentage to set the all-time record for second baseman. Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.