Saturday, August 02

Welcome back to the Cubs Beat newsletter. Jordan Bastian has covered baseball for MLB.com since 2005, including the Cubs since the 2019 season.

CHICAGO – Shawon Dunston spent many years as the middle-infield partner and locker neighbor of Ryne Sandberg during their time with the Cubs. They were good friends even longer. And when Dunston watches the current Cubs team, he sees a little bit of Sandberg around the diamond.

“There’s a lot of Cub players who play like Ryno and they act like Ryno,” Dunston said earlier this week on MLB Network. “The Cub players play like Ryno. They come to the plate, they battle, and they’re out to beat you. And they’re quiet and then they go home and go about their business, and that’s that. That was Ryno.”

Dunston was emotional as he spoke about Sandberg, who passed away on Monday at the age of 65 following a battle with cancer. The long-time Cubs shortstop rattled off the names of Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker, Matt Shaw and Michael Busch as players who remind him of his former teammate in both their team-first play and quiet, business-like personalities.

Happ smiled when asked about Dunston’s comments.

“It means the world to me,” Happ said. “I thought his words were powerful and I thought it was amazing of him to go on and do that. And to mention me, as someone who embodies the way that Ryno went about his business, it’s about the highest compliment you can receive.”

Swanson was also touched by Dunston’s remarks.

“That’s very, very kind of him to say that,” Swanson said. “I think there’s a lot of us in this clubhouse that just want to win and do everything we can to win. It doesn’t matter who gets the glory, because this is a group, it’s a team effort always.”

During Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee, the Cubs debuted a sleeve patch featuring Sandberg’s signature and No. 23. The team will have that on their uniforms for the rest of this season as they push for a place on the October stage. And in a way, the group on the field is representative of the kind of player Sandberg was in his Hall of Fame career.

Sandberg was known for his blend of power, speed and impeccable defense.

“He kind of redefined the position a little bit as far as what’s possible,” Hoerner said. “Having an impact bat at second base, while still winning nine Gold Gloves. He hit 19 triples in one season, which is kind of unfathomable. Just an all-around dynamic player, and person as well. His love for the game was just so obvious.”

This 2025 Cubs team is one of the top overall defensive units in baseball, while featuring a lineup that ranks near or at the top in the game in home runs, extra-base hits, stolen bases and runs scored. That reflects the kind of all-around athlete Sandberg was for Chicago.

“I thought about that the other day, actually,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he would really enjoy watching this team, because of some of the things that we’ve been able to be successful with.”

Sandberg finished his career with 76 triples, including 48 at Wrigley Field. Where does that rank Ryno in Cubs history for three-base hits at the Friendly Confines?

A. First

B. Second

C. Third

D. Fourth

As a reporter and baseball writer, I pride myself on staying behind the scenes and not putting myself into a story. But something Happ said this week after Sandberg’s passing resonated with your faithful Cubs scribe.

“There’s a whole generation of Cubs fans that just absolutely adored Ryno,” Happ said. “And you could feel it. You could feel it when he was around.”

As a kid growing up in Chicagoland, I was absolutely a part of that generation. I was born in ‘82, so too young to really appreciate the early years of Ryno’s career, but my baseball fandom was really taking hold by the time the ‘90s arrived. And man, that 1990 campaign Sandberg turned in immediately vaulted him to “favorite player” status.

The first time I played Little League, I answered “second base” when my first coach asked what position I wanted to play. That was because of Ryno. Before I was old enough to realize my skills on a field were merely press box-worthy, I dreamed about manning second at Wrigley Field.

On Sept. 21, 1997, as I celebrated my 15th birthday, I was in Seat 3, Row 10, Aisle 237 for Sandberg’s final home game at Wrigley Field. He had two hits that Sunday afternoon and was lifted for a pinch-runner in the fifth. The theme music from “The Natural” played as Ryno lifted his helmet skyward amid a rousing standing ovation.

Over the past few years, it was a joy and an honor to have the handful of conversations I did with Sandberg. In our last chat this past spring, as he was battling cancer, one of his final comments stayed with me: “It feels good to be out here, fresh air, sunshine, around the guys. I mean, it feels really good.”

Sandberg impacted plenty of people he was around -- even plenty of kids who viewed him as a childhood sports hero. It feels good to be out here. Fresh air. Sunshine. Around this beautiful game. Maybe I wouldn’t do what I do for a living without having seen Ryne Sandberg play.

Rest easy, Ryno. Thank you.

“I was thinking about the day the statue was unveiled. That’s my favorite day as a Chicago Cub, just the team being there and fans in a different setting than in the ballpark. And watching Ryno with his family, knowing what he’s going through and everything. You feel like your job is to win baseball games, but your job is to bring people together, too. There’s more reward in bringing people together like that.” -- Counsell, on Sandberg

• Cubs acquire versatile right-hander Michael Soroka from Nationals. Read more >>

• Cubs head into Deadline off-day with big win over Brewers. Read more >>

• Happ avoids IL, Moisés Ballesteros gets call from Triple-A Iowa. Read more >>

• Players, Counsell react to to loss of ‘Amazing Cub’ Sandberg. Read more >>

• Cubs agree to multiyear extension with president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. Read more >>

A. First

That’s right. Sandberg established the Cubs’ record for career triples at Wrigley Field, surpassing the previous mark of 46 by Stan Hack (1932-47). Sandberg’s 13 triples at home in 1984 also set a single-season mark for the ballclub that stands to this day. That eclipsed Kiki Cuyler’s previous record of 12 (1930).

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