In an era when superstars preferred to speak loudly while carrying a big stick, Ryne Sandberg was a notable exception.
Sandberg’s refusal to call attention to himself may have hurt his chances of becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer, despite nine straight Gold Gloves, 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and a flair for the dramatic in the national spotlight.
But Sandberg’s wait ended Tuesday when the soft-spoken Cubs star was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his third year on the ballot.
Sandberg and five-time American League batting champion Wade Boggs were the only two players voted in as the Class of 2005 and will be inducted in ceremonies July 31 at Cooperstown, N.Y.
For Sandberg, election to the Hall helped ease the disappointment of never reaching the World Series during his standout 16-year career.
“One of my goals 20 years ago was playing in a World Series or winning a World Series, but unfortunately that was not to happen for me in Chicago,” Sandberg said. “Today, this puts an exclamation point on [my career] and diminishes the frustration I had for so many years. I’d call it some type of closure and tremendous satisfaction.”
Sandberg received 393 votes, or 76.2 percent of the record 516 ballots cast by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. A player must receive 75 percent to gain inclusion, meaning Sandberg made it by a mere six votes, tied for the 12th-slimmest margin in history.
Boggs received the third-most votes in history (474), and was named on 91.86 percent of the ballots. Only Nolan Ryan (491) and George Brett (488) received more total votes than Boggs, who became the 41st player elected in his first year of eligibility.
Sandberg was considered a shoo-in for the Hall when he retired for good after the 1997 season. He hit 277 of his lifetime 282 home runs as a second baseman, making him the career leader at his position. He since has been surpassed by Jeff Kent.
But Sandberg’s calling card was his sterling defense, which helped make him a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove winner.
His .989 fielding percentage is the highest of any second baseman. He also holds major-league records for consecutive error-free games in a season (90 straight in 1989) and over two seasons (123 games in 1989-90).
“Defense had everything to do with me getting into the Hall of Fame,” Sandberg said. “My defense was what helped me break into the major leagues when I did. I earned an everyday job at age 22 as the starting third baseman. I started out 0-for-30 or 1-for-31, but my defense was solid and they kept me in the lineup.
“I always took a lot pride in defense. Winning that first Gold Glove in 1983 set the tone. That was the level I wanted to maintain.”
Sandberg was sometimes criticized for not getting his uniform dirty by diving for balls. But it was his peers who voted for the Gold Glove awards, who realized his range was so good he didn’t have to dive.
“I had tremendous range when I played,” Sandberg said. “I was very quick, I got to balls behind second base, got to balls behind the first baseman. . . . I used my range to make plays on balls I didn’t have to dive for. To dive for no reason when you can’t get an out or you’re not going to prevent a run, to me, is not worth anything.”
Though Sandberg was known as a quiet, humble player, his teammates knew he also had a mischievous side.
“Most people didn’t realize he liked to light peoples’ shoes on fire,” recalled former Cubs teammate Shawon Dunston. “He’d light a match, and all of a sudden everyone was screaming. Everyone thought it was me, but we caught him doing it.”
Sandberg was an established star by the time Dunston reached the Cubs for good and he became the young shortstop’s role model.
“What I really liked about Ryno was how he approached the game as a professional,” Dunston said. “I watched everything he did.
“I’m smiling and very happy inside,” Dunston added. “After the first time on the ballot, it wasn’t looking too good. But like they say, the third time’s a charm. Now we’re waiting on Andre [Dawson].”
Dawson remains a long-shot Hall candidate in spite of his 438 career home runs and eight Gold Gloves. The former Cubs right fielder finished sixth in this year’s balloting with 270 votes, or 52.3 percent, a slight increase over his 2004 totals of 253 votes (50 percent).
“When he retired, I was under the impression he was a Hall of Fame-caliber player,” Sandberg said of Dawson. “He was in the 400-400 club, home runs and stolen bases, and that’s a very limited crowd. . . . In his MVP season of ’87 he hit 49 home runs, and it seemed like he was hitting a home run every other day. A couple of years ago, that would be about 75 home runs. In my book he’s a Hall of Famer.”
Sandberg grew up in Spokane, Wash., and was drafted by the Phillies, who included him in the deal that sent shortstop Larry Bowa to the Cubs before the 1982 season. He became a Cubs legend with one memorable, nationally televised game on June 23, 1984, his MVP season, hitting two game-tying home runs off All-Star closer Bruce Sutter in the Cubs’ extra-inning victory over St. Louis at Wrigley Field.
After the game, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog referred to Sandberg as “Baby Ruth” and called it one of the greatest performances he had seen.
“That was a game everybody brings to my attention,” Sandberg said. “They always ask about the game against Bruce Sutter. If Bruce Sutter was not a top-line, Hall of Fame pitcher, I don’t think that game would have meant anything. That game speaks to the type of pitcher he was, and to me, he should be in the Hall of Fame.”
Sutter, another former Cubs star, finished third in this year’s balloting with 344 votes, or 66.7 percent. He is gaining ground in his 12th year on the ballot and could jump in next year with a less than stellar list of newly eligible players.
Sandberg, bogged down by personal problems stemming from a messy divorce, abruptly retired early in the 1994 season, only to re-marry and return to the Cubs in ’96. He played two more seasons before calling it quits again.
“The Hall of Fame was never really a goal of mine,” Sandberg said. “My goal as I was playing was to try and win a championship with the Chicago Cubs and be the best player I could be. At the time of the first retirement, I had personal issues. . . . I felt I couldn’t play up to the level of play I expected of myself and everyone expected of me.
“I retired, and a short time after that I decided I had some baseball left in me. At the age of 37, 38, I gave it another shot. All for the love of baseball and leaving on my own terms.”
Amid Tuesday’s commotion, Sandberg admitted he hadn’t given much thought to who would introduce him at the Cooperstown induction ceremony, though he later said the manager who urged him to hit for power, Jim Frey, would be the one.
“I’m just trying to pick a sport coat and finish this tornado ride,” he said. “This is the most I’ve ever talked on the telephone. I’ve had calls from Don Zimmer, Larry Bowa, Jim Hendry. . . . It has been incredible. I’m enjoying this and getting hoarse in my voice.”
Fame facts & figures
The voting
516 votes cast; 387 needed
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PLAYER NO. PCT
Wade Boggs 474 91.9
Ryne Sandberg 393 76.2
Bruce Sutter 344 66.7
Jim Rice 307 59.5
Rich “Goose” Gossage 285 55.2
Andre Dawson 270 52.3
Bert Blyleven 211 40.9
Lee Smith 200 38.8
Jack Morris 172 33.3
Tommy John 123 23.8
Steve Garvey 106 20.5
Alan Trammell 87 16.9
Dave Parker 65 12.6
Don Mattingly 59 11.4
Dave Concepcion 55 10.7
Dale Murphy 54 10.5
Willie McGee 26 5.0
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Off the ballot
By receiving fewer than 5 percent of votes (25 or less) these 10 are no longer eligible for election by the BBWAA.
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PLAYER NO. PCT
Jim Abbott 13 2.5
Darryl Strawberry 6 1.2
Jack McDowell 4 0.8
Chili Davis 3 0.6
Tom Candiotti 2 0.4
Jeff Montgomery 2 0.4
Tony Phillips 1 0.2
Terry Steinbach 1 0.2
Mark Langston 0 —
Otis Nixon 0 —
Boggs by the numbers
1982-92–Boston Red Sox
1993-97–New York Yankees
1998-99–Tampa Bay
YR AB R H HR RBI AVG
1982 338 51 118 5 44 .349
1983 582 100 210 5 74 .361
1984 625 109 203 6 55 .325
1985 653 107 240 8 78 .368
1986 580 107 207 8 71 .357
1987 551 108 200 24 89 .363
1988 584 128 214 5 58 .366
1989 621 113 205 3 54 .330
1990 619 89 187 6 63 .302
1991 546 93 181 8 51 .332
1992 514 62 133 7 50 .259
1993 560 83 169 2 59 .302
1994 366 61 125 11 55 .342
1995 460 76 149 5 63 .324
1996 501 80 156 2 41 .311
1997 353 55 103 4 28 .292
1998 435 51 122 7 52 .280
1999 292 40 88 2 29 .301
TOTALS 9180 1513 3010 118 1014 .328
DIVISION SERIES TOTALS (3)
38 5 9 1 5 .237
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (4)
74 7 21 1 6 .284
WORLD SERIES (2)
42 3 12 0 5 .286
Sandberg by the numbers
1981–Philadelphia Phillies
1982-94, 96-97–Cubs
YR AB R H HR RBI AVG
1981 6 2 1 0 0 .167
1982 635 103 172 7 54 .271
1983 633 94 165 8 48 .261
1984 636 114 200 19 84 .314
1985 609 113 186 26 83 .305
1986 627 68 178 14 76 .284
1987 523 81 154 16 59 .294
1988 618 77 163 19 69 .264
1989 606 104 176 30 76 .290
1990 615 116 188 40 100 .306
1991 585 104 170 26 100 .291
1992 612 100 186 26 87 .304
1993 456 67 141 9 45 .309
1994 223 36 53 5 24 .238
1996 554 85 135 25 92 .244
1997 447 54 118 12 64 .264
TOTALS 8385 1318 2386 282 1061 .285
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (2)
39 9 15 1 6 .385
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Cubs in Cooperstown
Cubs players who went into the Hall of Fame wearing either a Cubs or non-specific cap:
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PLAYER YEAR
Grover Cleveland Alexander 1938
Cap Anson 1939
Ernie Banks 1977
Roger Bresnahan 1945
Mordecai Brown 1949
Frank Chance 1946
John Clarkson 1963
Kiki Cuyler 1968
Hugh Duffy 1945
Johnny Evers 1946
Clark C. Griffith 1946
Gabby Hartnett 1955
Billy Herman 1975
Ferguson Jenkins 1991
King Kelly 1945
A.G. Spalding 1939
Joe Tinker 1946
Rube Waddell 1946
Billy Williams 1987
Hack Wilson 1979
Fame roster breakdown
Boggs and Sandberg make it 260 members in Cooperstown:
NO., POSITION
59: Pitchers 57: OF
13: Catchers 18: 1B
18: Negro leaguers 17: 2B
16: Managers 20: SS
8: Umpires 11: 3B
23: Executives or pioneers
Top vote-getters (by pct.)
PLAYER YR TOT NO. Pct.
Tom Seaver 1992 430 425 98.84
Nolan Ryan 1999 497 491 98.79
Ty Cobb 1936 226 222 98.23
George Brett 1999 497 488 98.19
Hank Aaron 1982 415 406 97.83
Mike Schmidt 1995 460 444 96.52
Johnny Bench 1989 447 431 96.42
Steve Carlton 1994 455 436 95.82
Babe Ruth 1936 226 215 95.13
Honus Wagner 1936 226 215 95.13
20. Boggs 2005 516 474 91.86
95. Sandberg 2005 516 393 76.16
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