“I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your organization or your manager and never, ever your uniform.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I didn’t play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“In baseball, there’s always the next day.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“When I was a minor league player, my goal was to be a major leaguer. It’s no different as a minor league manager.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Get your work in. Work hard at it. Give it your best effort. And if you get an opportunity, be ready for it. That’s respect for the game.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I love to play baseball. I’m a baseball player. I’ve always been a baseball player. I’m still a baseball player. That’s who I am.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“My style is I work hard at it. I feel like I’m prepared every day.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Hit a home run – put your head down, drop the bat, run around the bases, because the name on the front is more – a lot more important than the name on the back.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Baseball is all about relationships, and in some ways, what know you and who knows you.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I just appreciated so much the contract they gave me, and I wanted to give something back to the Cubs’ organization.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“In other ways, one way to be in a lineup or stay in a lineup or stay in a spot is to produce.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I have great memories of being a Cub, and I’m happy building new ones with the Phillies.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“’The Sandberg Game’ comes up all the time. Fans tell me where they were. They were driving down the highway, they were in the bleachers, they were downtown listening on the radio, they were on the farm on a tractor. I’ve heard all the stories where people have been. They’re just amazed by the ending of the game and the thrill of it.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way, that I played the game the way it was supposed to be played.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I had too much respect for the game to leave it behind or to make it my second or third sport in college.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“If you played the game the right way, played the game for the team, good things would happen.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“My mom was at every single game I played as a kid, rain or shine.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“The fourth major league game I ever saw in person, I was in uniform.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I was in awe every time I walked on to the field.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“When did it – When did it become okay for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?”
― Ryne Sandberg
“A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn’t work hard for validation.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I played it right because that’s what you’re supposed to do – play it right and with respect.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“If this validates anything, it’s that learning how to bunt and hit and run and turning two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light at the dug out camera.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“There was Shawon Dunston and Mark Grace, and together we were a double play combination for ten years.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more, or did it better than Andre Dawson. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I was in the postseason twice and I’m thankful for that.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“It didn’t happen, but I feel fortunate for the two chances we had and it’s just a shame we didn’t go to a World Series for Cub fans.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Baseball wasn’t easy for me.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I struggled many times when maybe it didn’t look like I was struggling, and I had to work hard every day.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I had to prepare physically every day, and I didn’t leave many scraps for the writers.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“My wife Margaret is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’ve been proud to be a lifelong Chicago Cub and still be with the Cubs. That’s always been important to me and I think it’s always been special.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“There’s not too many guys that spend their whole career with one team and I think it’s very fortunate and a blessing for me.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I learned a lot in the Minor Leagues, spending six years there. I honed my skills, as far as coaching goes. I was able to work with the players in a lot of facets of the game.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I think sometimes Hall of Famers might get labeled as guys who aren’t suited for a coaching job or to be back at the Major League level.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“At my growing years of 18 to 21 years old in the Minor Leagues, I dreamed of being a Philadelphia Phillie.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I never forgot the four years I spent with the Phillies, my September call-ups and my big league Spring Trainings. I never forgot that.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I got into pro ball at 18 and played until I was almost 39, non-stop.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I was a baseball player at North Central High School in Spokane, Washington even though I was all-city in basketball, even when I signed a letter of intent to play quarterback at Washington State.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I was taught coming up in the Phillies organization to be seen and not heard by people like Pete Rose, my hero growing up, and players like Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton and Manny Trillo.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“If you’re in the minor leagues, you want to get to the majors.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I don’t expect any red carpet to the big leagues. If the opportunity comes, then it comes. But I don’t think I’m owed anything.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“As great a public speaker as I am, I don’t know have – I don’t – I don’t have the words to describe Cub fans who welcomed me as a rookie, were patient through my 1-for-32 start, and took me into their homes and into their hearts and treated me like a member of their family. You picked me up when I was down.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“There were a lot of players who worked just as hard as I did, and if you didn’t, you didn’t stay in the big leagues.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“When we went home every winter, they warned us not to lift heavy weights because they didn’t want us to lose flexibility. They wanted us to be baseball players, not only home run hitters.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I played high school football at a hundred and eighty-five pounds and played big league baseball at a hundred and eighty-two. I’d get up to maybe 188 in the off-season because every summer I’d lose eight to ten pounds.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“My Hall of Fame speech was about respect for the game.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I knew nothing about managing when I started.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“There is a lot to managing, and with almost four years under my belt, I believe I’m ready.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’m not interested in on-the-job learning or on-the-job training.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“One of the first benchmarks in a season are far as at-bats is 100.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Any time you’re in the coaching business or managing in the minor leagues, when you see a player who has made it to the major leagues, you get a thrill out of that.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“They use the word ‘integrity’ in describing a Hall of Famer in the logo of the Hall of Fame, and I think there are gonna be quite a few players that are not going to get in.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Steve Bartman was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I was a hard worker.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I came up under the wing of Larry Bowa, and one thing I did not do was ever take a day off from taking pregame groundballs or batting practice. Then the games were just having fun.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I am not the type of person who can leave my game at the ballpark and feel comfortable that my future is set regardless of my performance.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I do my homework. I come to the ballpark, and I relay any message that I need to relay to the players. I get that off my chest.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I talk to the players, either individually or as a group, what I’m feeling, and I think the players appreciate that. And I think they respond to that.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I let the players use their abilities and what they’re capable of doing. If they’re capable of stealing bases, I’m going to give them the green light. I’m going to teach them to pick their spots and to get a base when they can get a base.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“It’s hard for me to answer questions I haven’t thought about.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’ve been in baseball my whole life, so I understand there’s a lot in baseball that is out of your control, and you have to focus on the things you can control.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’m optimistic about the future.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“There’s nothing I would do differently, no wishing I had done this or done that.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Even if we’re in fifth place in September, I get butterflies before a game. I’m nervous.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’d rather play a double-header than speak at a banquet, and if I went to Wrigley Field knowing I had to be somewhere two hours after the game, it would bother me all day.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Am I impressed by myself? Nah, not really.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I know I’m appreciated by how fans treat me, and the best way to treat them is play every day, hard. I sign autographs, but if I’m with someone I don’t know who doesn’t start the conversation, there won’t be a conversation. That’s just me, living my life. But I’ll loosen up after baseball.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“All it takes to play baseball is a strong arm, good speed, and the coordination to hit the ball. That’s it.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I thought I was a pretty good shortstop, but I also wanted to play in the major leagues.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“You don’t get hits if you’re depressed.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Typically, a position change is more for instructional league and winter time. It’s just a more relaxed situation. A player can make some mistakes and learn from them. That’s the proper way to go about a position change, for me.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Your first responsibility is to the organization, to teach and prepare players to get to the big leagues and have them ready when they get there, but everyone in the minors wants to be in the majors.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“The Phillies liked the work I had done with the Cubs, and really wanted me there. They were on the phone as soon as my contract was up in Chicago, and it was just a great feeling to be wanted, to be appreciated for the work you do.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I have to do what I have to do, and you have to go where the opportunities are.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I defend my players and coaches.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“When I’m arguing, I’m competing. I’m trying to win a game. And if that’s what’s called for, it’s just a reaction.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“For me, the game starts with starting pitching.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Football, I thought, would be a tough sport to make a living in. There is no minor league. You either make it to the NFL or you don’t.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’m not thinking about records. Just winning the pennant would be exciting.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“You never forget the feeling of not getting to the World Series. Yes, it sticks with you.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Time and time again, I see former teammates, and we talk about it. It feels like we are all on the same page: We enjoyed the regular season, but we were disappointed in not making the World Series.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’ve spent 34 years associated with the Cubs, and part of the reason I’ve stayed in baseball is because I want to be part of a World Series winner.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’m not a sportswriter. I don’t get to vote. I don’t get the ballot in the mail, so it’s out of my hands either way. I can say that in the history of the Hall of Fame, there are no suspicions about guys who are in the Hall of Fame.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“It’s an elite group. And once you’re in the Hall, you’re in the Hall. Up until now, I think the voting system has handled things very well. And like I said before, there are no suspicions in the Hall of Fame.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“It was everyone going up there to swing for the fences, because the home runs were what would get them on ‘SportsCenter.’ That really changed the mindset of the players.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“Tainted numbers, I believe, do not belong in the Hall of Fame.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“I’ve always had that attitude that things happen for a reason.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“If a hitter gets hot, I wouldn’t take a hot hitter out of the lineup.”
― Ryne Sandberg
“You want to see energy, and you want to see guys on the same page. You want guys to work together and have that energy come out onto the field. That’s a good place to start.”
― Ryne Sandberg
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