I know this is a fantasy football website, but sometimes I just feel like writing, even if it’s slightly off topic. Today is one of those days. There’s an old saying, you should never meet your heroes, because you’ll be disappointed. I never met Ryne Sandberg, but I wish I would have. I was one of many fans across the nation who watched him on tv and once in awhile in the stands at Wrigley Field. I watched Ryne come up as a rookie. I saw The Sandberg Game on NBC’s Game of the Week on Saturday June 23, 1984. (The Game of the Week was a big deal back then. There wasn’t an internet and limited tv channels, so if a team was on that week, the entire country watched it). Ryne’s heroics from that game are indelibly imprinted on my brain. Bob Costas with the legendary call of both of Ryne’s home runs, which tied the game off former Cub and all-star relief pitcher, Bruce Sutter, twice! It featured Cub great of the past vs Cub great of the present, and Ryne won!

Ryne was a nine time Gold Glove winner. He rarely made an error. He hit for power. He hit for average. He stole bases. And to top it off he won the MVP in 1984. but more importantly he was a consummate professional, both on and off the field. When Ryne hit a home run, he simply gently dropped his bat and jogged the around the bases. There was no trash talk or bat flip. He didn’t show up the pitcher. His view was the name on the front of the jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back. Ryne was a soft spoken, team first, humble person.

As good of a ballplayer Ryne Sandberg was, he was an even better person. One story I read on Twitter (aka X) sums this up. Ryne Sandberg was at a hotel lobby, I believe. Some of the players ducked out an exit in the back to avoid fans, but not Ryno. Instead, Ryne met one fan who said that he and his dad were big fans of his. The fan also mentioned that his dad was fighting the same cancer that Ryne was. Without skipping a beat Ryne said, “Tell him that we’ll beat this thing together.” Maybe it’s the fact that I lost my dad to cancer, but I thought that was such a cool story. Ryne was a class act, truly second to none.

This tribute isn’t just for Ryne Sandberg. It’s really meant for everyone who’s fighting cancer. It’s meant for those who lost their battle with cancer, like my dad and Ryne. It’s meant for those of us who lost their loved ones to cancer like Ryne’s family and friends. Outside of my dad, Ryne Sandberg was my childhood hero. I wasn’t the biggest, fastest, strongest, or the most athletic, but I learned how to play sports the right way by always giving one hundred percent. I ran out every grounder. I practiced hard. I always hustled. And no matter what the score was, I never quit. When I made a good play or we won, I learned how to act humble and to always put the team first. I learned how to treat my teammates, my coaches, my opponents, the umpires/referees, and whatever game I played with respect. I learned how to stay grounded and humble, not just in sports, but in life. Yes, Ryne Sandberg was a Hall-of Fame player, but more importantly Ryne Sandberg was a Hall-of-Fame person. And as I’ve grown older, I’ve seen just how rare those qualities are, especially when it comes to star athletes. Even though I never met Ryne, and it’s been twenty-eight years since I watched him play baseball, I know I’ll miss him. The world seems a lot colder now than it was just a few days ago.

-Mark Ringo