Ryne Sandberg announced his retirement–for the second time in three years–on Saturday. This time he’ll go out with a farewell tour.
Sandberg, who turns 38 next month, said he’ll call it quits after the 1997 season to spend more time with his family.
Although there had been speculation Sandberg would wind up with the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks next season, he said he wanted to end his 15-year career in Chicago.
“I just think it’s perfect that I retire as a Cub,” Sandberg said.
The Cubs will have a day honoring Sandberg on Sept. 20 at Wrigley Field against Philadelphia, the team that traded him and Larry Bowa here in 1982 for Ivan DeJesus.
Sandberg turned into one of baseball’s best second baseman, while DeJesus became a footnote in Cubs history.
Sandberg’s agent, Jim Turner, called the Cubs about a week ago and informed them Sandberg was “strongly considering” retirement. The Cubs couldn’t make a deal for a second-base prospect before the non-waiver trading deadline Thursday and are likely to try to trade for someone such as Montreal’s Mike Lansing in the off-season.
Their Triple-A second baseman is Miguel Cairo, a good basestealer with no power who has yet to show signs of becoming a consistent hitter or fielder.
But, at Class A Daytona, 21-year-old Elinton Jasco is hitting nearly .370.
Sandberg has won nine Gold Glove awards and is the career leader in home runs among second baseman with 271. He’s one of 33 players ranked in the top 100 in hits and home runs.
“Everybody has their time,” Sandberg said. “My time has come.”
Sandberg first retired June 13, 1994, saying he wanted to devote more time to his family and adding that he had “lost the edge it takes” to play.
After resolving matters in his personal life and remarrying, he decided after the 1995 season to return to the Cubs and he hit 25 home runs with 92 RBIs in his comeback year.
“I didn’t expect the kind of power he gave us (in ’96),” team President Andy MacPhail said. “I thought the power would come later. Clearly, this year he’s not on pace to deliver those numbers. I’m sure that’s part of his frustration.”
Age obviously has affected Sandberg, who isn’t the All-Star-caliber player he was in the 1980s and early ’90s.
“It happens to all of us,” MacPhail said. “Some of us are going to get retired earlier if we don’t mix in some pretty good years.”
Sandberg said he was “comfortable” with his decision, which he said he made back in spring training but kept to himself and his family. “It’s sad in a way,” he said. “I know there’s a good situation going on here. Good baseball people are in charge, and I have a lot of confidence that things will be turned around here shortly.”
Sandberg has played for 12 different managers with the Cubs. Through Saturday, the team’s overall record with Sandberg in a Cubs uniform is 1,092-1,178 in the regular season and 3-7 in the 1984 and 1989 playoffs.
There were many similarities in the circumstances regarding Sandberg’s first retirement in ’94 and Saturday’s announcement.
– The Cubs were in last place on June 13, 1994 with a .383 winning percentage (23-37), having lost nine of their previous 10 games. The Cubs were in last place on Saturday with a .391 winning percentage (43-67) and nine straight losses.
– Sandberg was struggling at the plate in ’94 with a .238 average and only five home runs in 223 at-bats, ending in a 1-for-28 slump. Although he hit two home runs in Saturday’s game with the Dodgers, he has struggled in ’97, with a .249 average and only eight home runs. in 320 at-bats although he has two months remaining to go out like the Ryne Sandberg of old.
– He made his decision in spring training both times, and both times he said he was doing it for his family.
“The kids are getting big and they have their activities that in some ways they’ve put on hold the last two years,” Sandberg said.
“They’ve missed out on some things and sacrificed some things back in Arizona to come and be with me and be a part of what I do. That experience has meant a lot to me, and now I’m going to devote some time to them and enjoy the things that they do.”
Sandberg’s skills have deteriorated somewhat. He was benched briefly for the first time in his career in May but didn’t openly complain. He said he doesn’t regret his decision to come back.
“I came in open-minded because I was out for a year and a half,” he said. “I really didn’t know what I could accomplish. What I did accomplish was suiting up every day, putting on a uniform, being part of the Chicago Cubs. . . . I’m very happy I came back.”
Sandberg’s retirement could signify a changing of the guard at Wrigley Field, an attempt by the Cubs to get “younger” next season.
“If you have players at the Triple-A level and you feel they’re ready to make the move to the big leagues, then you bring them up,” General Manager Ed Lynch said.
“But you have to try to do the best you can to put the best players on the field. You certainly don’t want to bring up young players who you feel don’t belong here just to be young. We want to be good.
“This is not a situation where we’re going to have to tear the whole thing down and start over, because we feel we have the nucleus of a pretty good pitching staff with (Steve) Trachsel and (Kevin) Foster and (Jeremi) Gonzalez.
“We’ll have Kerry Wood coming and (Amaury) Telemaco, and some people at Triple A performing very well. A young bullpen with Terry Adams and (Turk) Wendell.
“We have have what we think is a pretty good nucleus. But scoring runs has been our biggest problem, and that needs to be addressed.”
One pitcher Lynch didn’t mention was Mel Rojas, whom the Cubs are likely to try to dump in the off-season. Lynch said the Cubs need to add offense “in the middle infield,” which may indicate Shawon Dunston is undergoing his second Cubs farewell tour as well.
Dunston said he was proud to have played alongside Sandberg.
“When (Sandberg) does go into the Hall of Fame, I can say I played next to him,” he said.
In the end, Sandberg may be remembered like Ernie Banks–a very popular Cubs Hall-of-Famer who never had an opportunity to play in a World Series.
His career will end with a downer of a season, although he won’t be the first Hall-of-Famer to go out with a last-place ballclub. Sandberg called the season “disappointing,” which is an understatement.
“The ultimate thing is to win games,” he said. “And that’s when I have the most fun, after we win games. So as far as that goes, it has been a tough year for all of us. But I feel very lucky that I was able to put on a uniform this year.”
