Congrats to Ryne Sandberg on entering the Hall of Fame!
Sandberg should have been a first ballot HoFer. He’s the best second baseman in baseball history.
Too many people compare his numbers to current players. That’s simply unfair. You must judge a player based on his era. Show me an infielder who had better OVERALL numbers than Sandberg from the 80s and early 90s. Show me. He did it all. He was a great hitter, great fielder, great baserunner. You name it.
Alot of critics blame Sandberg for never diving on defense. Hogwash. He didn’t have to dive! That’s just it! He patened the twist-and-twirl-throw-off-balance-from-outfield-grass-to-get-the-man-at-first move. (I didn’t say he invented it. He patened it. He made it a regular part of his game. Everyone else followed.)
Ryno’s accomplishments are just too numerous to recall here. I simply want to give shouts to best second baseman ever! Way to go, Ryno!
Since around 1988, I have collected 500+ individual Ryne Sandberg baseball cards. Some day I will scan them all in and put them on my website. Check out my homepage to see one of my favorite cards. It’s a 1985 Donruss Big Card. It has Sandberg’s classic winged hair-do from the mid 80s. And what’s up with that pyschedelic purple background and black checker borders? It’s awesome!
that purple background is a blurred shot of fan heads. they are purple because he is playing on Mars. he’s that good – he’s interplanetary.
spudart, you of all people should know that it’s Shawon, not Shawn. Remember when Shawon first came up and Harry Caray called him “Sha-Won”? Around his second season, Harry started pronouncing it as “shawn”. I wonder why. Maybe Harry and Shawon had an encounter at the McDonalds across the street.
(My dad saw Shawon Dunston at the McDonalds across the street right before a game back in 85 or 86.)
oh that’s right. shawon. oops. you’d think 200+ dunston cards would make me remember that.
I’m so happy for Ryno!!
and i’m happy for Wade too!