The Chicago Cubs are honoring former star and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg throughout the rest of the season.
The Cubs will debut a special patch on their jerseys Tuesday night, one day after Sandberg died following a long battle with cancer. The blue patch on the left shoulder features Sandberg’s number and his signature, and it will remain on the team’s jerseys the rest of the year.
Everyone in the Cubs’ clubhouse wore special shirts to honor Sandberg on Tuesday as well.
The Milwaukee Brewers also held a special moment of silence for Sandberg ahead of their matchup with the Cubs at American Family Field on Tuesday night.
Sandberg spent nearly his entire MLB career with the Cubs, save for a 13-game stint with the Philadelphia Phillies at the very beginning of his time in the league. The fan favorite and former NL MVP made 10 straight All-Star appearances, won nine Gold Gloves and seven Silver Slugger awards before he retired after the 1997 campaign.
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Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, the same year that the Cubs retired his No. 23 jersey. The team unveiled a Sandberg statue outside of Wrigley Field last year, which was quickly covered in flowers, Cubs gear and other memorabilia after news of his death broke on Monday.
After his playing career, Sandberg spent time coaching both in the Cubs and Phillies’ organization, and he briefly served as the Phillies’ manager from 2013-15, though he completed only one full season in that post.
Sandberg died due to complications with cancer, which he was diagnosed with twice in 2024. He was first diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, but announced eight months later that he was cancer-free. Then in December, he revealed that the cancer had actually spread to other organs in his body.
“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.”
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