Ryne Sandberg

[Bart]

I was listening to a few sports talk shows and was surprised to hear Ryne described as a lunch pail type of player who was not naturally gifted but was a very hard worker who came to play everyday etc. He was devoted to the game and worked hard BUT the man was very talented. He was a great fielder who rarely made errors or bad throws. He hit tons of homers for a second baseman, had a ot of RBI's and was a very good base stealer. He also excelled at other sports.He was an excellent athlete!


Ryne Sandberg
Born Sept. 18, 1959, in Spokane, Wash. ... named after former Yankees pitcher Ryne Duren ... played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and 13 games with Phillies ... won nine straight Gold Gloves ... has the highest fielding percentage at second base with .989 for anyone who played more than 800 games at the position ... did not make a throwing error in seven of his 16 big-league seasons ... led National League second basemen in fielding percentage four times and assists seven times ... his 277 career home runs as a second baseman were the most in history until he was surpassed last year by Houston's Jeff Kent ... stole 20 or more bases nine times ... scored more than 100 runs six times ... scored 1,318 runs and had 1,061 RBIs in 2,164 games ... shares major league record for most years with 500 or more assists by a second baseman (6) ... had five .300-plus batting averages and one 200-hit season ... hit five career grand slams ... had a career .285 batting average, a .344 on-base percentage, and 282 home runs.

 

[whiteCB]

If Sandburg is a HOF then Jeff Kent should be in there 1st time around after he retires as well.

 

[IceSpeed2]

Boggs is definitely a Hall of Famer, but I don't
think Sandberg should be. His average was not super high and he
never achieved GREATNESS. I guess if Reggie Jackson is in,
Sandberg should be.

 

[Bart]

Ice Speed 2, I would have to respectfully disagree with your assessment of Ryne Sandberg. He did not toot his own horn, was a quiet team player and eschewed publicity. Joe Morgan's name pops up frequently when discussing all - time great second basemen. Yes,. he was very good but he was a media darling on an historically excellent team.


Joe played more years than Ryne but you would be surprised to see how close they were in several statistics. Morgan won2 MVP awards, Ryne won 1. .Ryan won 9 Gold Gloves to Morgan's 5. Ryan had seven seasons without committing even one throwing error! Joe had a higher OBP, but Ryne had a higherSLG and batting average. If Ryne's BA was too low,what about Morgan's whom he beat by 14 PP's.


So, how in the heck can Morgan be considerd one of the best or even THE best according to some but But Sanberg doesn't even merit being in the hall? If Sandberg had been on the BIG REDMACHINE and Morgan would have played with the lowly, lousy Cubswe just might be saying Sandberg wasat the top of the heap.


AB'S R H HR RBI BA OBP SLG


Joe M9277 1650 2517 268 1133.271&nbs p; .392.427


Ryne 8385 1318 2386 282 1061 285. 344452


I don't know why the numbers get goofed up with additional characters. . Forgot to mention I'd like to see Jeff Kent make the HOF. Edited by: Bart

 

[GreatLakeState]

His batting average may not have been "super high", but that
doesn't begin to tell the story about this guy as a ballplayer.

 

[IceSpeed2]

How is Joe Morgan in the Hall of Fame? I just
think the Hall should be more exclusive than it is I guess.
Compared to whose already in the Hall, I guess Ryne should be in.
He is better than a lot of guys. They put too many people in.


Edited by: IceSpeed2

 

[Don Wassall]

An article I was reading recently had an excerpt in it from Ryne Sandberg's induction speech into the Hall of Fame in 2005. This is the attitude the media should be promoting and rewarding, rather than you know what:


"I was in awe every time I walked onto the field. That's respect. I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponents or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform. You make a great play, act like you've done it before; get a big hit, look for the third-base coach and get ready to run the bases.


"These guys sitting up here did not pave the way for the rest of us so that players could swing for the fences every time up and forget how to move a runner over to third. It's disrespectful to them, to you and to the game of baseball that we all played growing up.


"Respect. A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn't work hard for validation. I didn't play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that's what you're supposed to do, play it right and with respect. . . If this validates anything, it's that guys who taught me the game. . . did what they were supposed to do, and I did what I was supposed to do."

 

[Solomon Kane]

this is one of those cases where "if you add everything up" it's a certain and-- to me anyway---true Hall of famer. A fine all around ball-player, average, speed, homers, ribbies, and fielding. there's too much there to deny him a place.


and he also could have easily played a few more years to reach 300+ homers.


and jeff kent is another class act--too bad he had to play alongside jerks like barry bonds.