Ryne Sandberg

Ryne Dee Sandberg (born September 18, 1959), nicknamed "Ryno", is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager.

Sandberg was a three-sport star in high school at North Central and graduated in 1978.

The previous fall he was named to Parade Magazine's High School All-America football team, one of the eight quarterbacks, and one of two players from the state of Washington.

He opted not to attend after being selected in the 20th round of the 1978 baseball amateur draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Sandberg was reportedly drafted after Bill Harper and Wilbur "Moose" Johnson, both Philadelphia Phillies scouts, persuaded Phillies director of scouting Dallas Green to draft Sandberg, despite his college football commitment.

After the Phillies drafted Sandberg, Harper reportedly met with Sandberg, his parents, and brother Del at the Sandberg home.

"His parents, particularly his mother, were very concerned about Ryne going to college and getting an education," Harper recalled.

Sandberg reportedly received a $20,000 bonus, accepting the offer after taking a walk with his brother during the meeting.

In 1978, at age 18, Sandberg began his professional career after being drafted by the Phillies.

Sandberg played for the Helena Phillies in the Rookie level Pioneer League.

In his first professional season, Sandberg played exclusively at shortstop and hit .311 with a .390 OBP, 1 home run, 15 stolen bases and 23 RBI in 56 games.

Among his teammates at Helena were George Bell, a future MVP, and Bob Dernier, who would later form the "Daily Double" with Sandberg in Chicago.

The three would advance through the Phillies system as teammates.

Remaining at shortstop in 1979, Sandberg played for the Class A level Spartanburg Phillies in the Western Carolinas League.

In 138 games, Sandberg hit .247 with 7 triples, 4 home runs, 21 stolen bases and 47 RBI.

Sandberg played for the Class AA level Reading Phillies of the Eastern League in 1980.

With Reading, Sandberg hit .310, with a .403 OBP, 12 triples, 32 stolen bases, 11 home runs and 79 RBI.

Playing in 129 games for Reading, Sandberg drew 73 bases on balls against 72 strikeouts.

In the field, Sandberg played 120 games at shortstop and 4 at third base.

Sandberg was selected to the Eastern League All-Star team

He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies (1981) and the Chicago Cubs (1982–1994, 1996–1997).

Advancing to the Class AAA level Oklahoma City 89ers in 1981, Sandberg played 133 games before being called up by the Philadelphia Phillies.

With Oklahoma City, Sandberg remained primarily at shortstop while playing 17 games at second base.

Sandberg hit .293, with a .352 OBP, 32 stolen bases, 9 home runs and 62 RBI.

Sandberg made his major-league debut as a shortstop for the Phillies in 1981.

Playing in 13 games, Sandberg had one hit in six at-bats for a .167 batting average during his brief stint with the team.

The one hit occurred at Wrigley Field using a bat borrowed from starting shortstop Larry Bowa.

The Phillies soon concluded that Sandberg was not a successor to Bowa at shortstop.

While Sandberg had played both second and third base in the minor leagues, he was blocked from those positions by Manny Trillo and Mike Schmidt.

He was traded along with Bowa to the Cubs for shortstop Iván DeJesús prior to the 1982 season.

The trade, now reckoned as one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history, came about after negotiations for a new contract between Bowa and the Phillies broke down.

Sandberg established himself as a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove candidate, making ten consecutive All-Star appearances and winning nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983 to 1991.

The school's baseball field was named in his honor in 1985 as "Ryne Sandberg Field", and his varsity number was retired in both football and baseball.

Sandberg was recruited to play quarterback at NCAA Division I colleges, and eventually signed a letter of intent with Washington State University in Pullman.

His career .989 fielding percentage was a major-league record at second base when he retired in 1997.

He has the most Silver Slugger Awards for a second baseman with seven.

Sandberg was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2005; he was formally inducted in ceremonies on July 31, 2005.

He resigned from his managerial duties for the Phillies on June 26, 2015, and was succeeded by Pete Mackanin.

Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Sandberg's parents were Elizabeth, a nurse, and Derwent D. "Sandy" Sandberg, a mortician.

He was named for relief pitcher Ryne Duren.