Cubs Announce Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg Has Passed Away

Some tragic news was announced by the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.

They revealed that Hall of Famer and franchise legend Ryne Sandberg passed away at the age of 65 after a prolonged battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

Sandberg, who was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 20th round of 1978 draft, was traded to the Cubs along with Larry Bowa ahead of the 1982 season.

From there, Sandberg carved out a Hall of Fame career.

After finishing sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting following the 1982 campaign, he was named the 1984 National League MVP with a slash line of .314/.367/.520 with 19 homers, 84 RBI and an NL-leading 19 triples to go with an NL-leading 8.5 bWAR.

Sandberg won his first Gold Glove Award the year prior, and from 1983-91, he won nine straight Gold Gloves. He also amassed seven Silver Slugger Awards and was selected to the All-Star Game 10 times, a stretch of selections that all occurred from 1983-93.

His incredible career spanned 16 seasons, and 15 of them were spent in Chicago.

After his playing days where he totaled 2,386 hits, 282 home runs, 1,061 RBI and a lifetime batting average of .285, he started managing in the minor leagues.

Sandberg spent 2007-2010 coaching some of the Cubs' minor league affiliates before he departed for a job with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate to become their manager.

Eventually, Sandberg was hired at the big league level. He became Philadelphia's interim manager during the 2013 season before being hired in the permanent role.

From 2013-15, he had a record of 119-159 with the Phillies before he resigned during the 2015 campaign.

Sandberg returned to Chicago as the team's goodwill ambassador in 2016, making public appearances for the franchise where he got to interact with the fanbase.

Sandberg first revealed he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in January of 2024. He was announced that it was in remission seven months after that before then revealing it had returned.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Sandberg's family and friends and everyone affected by this tragic news.

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