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Hall of Fame Spotlight: Ryne Sandberg
I loved the way he went about his business.
Ryne Sandberg is my favorite baseball player of all time. It’s not just his production on the field, it’s also the way he went about his business. Ryne wasn’t a trash talker and wasn’t a self-promoter. He was like a hero from days gone by. I’m not a fanboy; I just have tremendous respect for what Ryne accomplished and the way he went about his business.
A little background
Ryne grew up in Spokane, Washington, and attended North Central high school, where he was a three-sport star. His mother was a nurse, and his father was a mortician. I’ll let you make your own joke.
Ryne was a very good quarterback in high school, even being named to Parade Magazine’s High School All-America football team. He was recruited to play quarterback at NCAA Division I schools. He went so far as to sign a letter of intent with Washington State University before deciding to pursue a baseball career.
“It’s Ryne, not Ryan”
Especially early in his career, Ryne’s name was often mispronounced as Ryan. Ryne said one thing that helped clear up the inaccuracy was when Harry Caray started calling him Ryno. In Harry’s case, it was an expression of endearment, not a derogatory political expression.
