Longtime Chicago Cubs star and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg died Monday, the team announced.
He was 65.
Sandberg died due to complications with cancer, with which he was diagnosed twice in 2024. He revealed in January 2024 that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Sandberg fended it off initially and about eight months later said he was cancer-free.
In December, however, Sandberg announced that the cancer had spread to other organs in his body. That led him to undergo “more intensive treatment.”
“Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic … His many friends across the game were in his corner as he courageously fought cancer in recent years. We will continue to support the important work of Stand Up To Cancer in Ryne’s memory.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Ryne’s family, Cubs fans everywhere and his admirers throughout our National Pastime.”
Sandberg spent nearly all of his MLB career with the Cubs. After a 13-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981, Sandberg spent the next 15 seasons with the Cubs before he retired after the 1997 campaign. He made 10 straight All-Star appearances starting in 1984, the year he won NL MVP honors while leading the league in triples and runs scored.
Sandberg won seven Silver Slugger awards and nine Gold Gloves throughout his career. He led the NL with 40 home runs in the 1990 season, and that year, he won the Home Run Derby at Wrigley Field.
Sandberg rarely missed time, too. He played in at least 115 games in all but one of his seasons with the Cubs, and he surpassed 150 games in all but four seasons. Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Cubs retired his number that year.
Last season, the Cubs unveiled a statue outside Wrigley Field honoring Sandberg.
“Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise,” Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement.
“His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle and competitive fire, were hallmarks of his career. He was immensely proud of his teammates and his role as a global ambassador of the game of baseball, but most of all, he was proud of Margaret, his children and his role as a husband, father and grandfather. Margaret and their children and grandchildren will always be a part of the Cubs family. ‘Ryno’ will never be forgotten by the Cubs community and baseball fans around the world.”
Sandberg, whom the Phillies took in the 20th round of the 1978 MLB Draft, grew up in Spokane, Washington. After his playing career ended, he spent time coaching with both the Cubs and Phillies organizations before he took over as Phillies manager in 2013.
He spent three seasons with the team before resigning during the 2015 campaign. He finished with a 119-159 record as manager and completed only one full season.
“The Phillies family is devastated to learn of the passing of Ryne Sandberg,” the team said in a statement. “He was an important part of our organization, not just as a player, but also as a coach and a manager. He made a lifelong impact on so many including those who had the privilege of knowing him and working with him. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Margaret and Ryne’s entire family during this difficult time.”
