Obama mourns Cubs great Ryne Sandberg: ‘Class act'
Sixty-five-year-old Sandberg died Monday, the Cubs said in a social media post. The famed baseball player had announced last year that he had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.
'Hall of Famer and Cubs stalwart Ryne Sandberg wasn't just a great baseball player — he was a class act who never cheated the game,' Obama said on Tuesday.
'Everyone in Chicago — including White Sox fans — will miss him deeply,' he added.
The former commander in chief, whose home city is Chicago, is a noted White Sox fan. But he's expressed admiration for the Windy City's crosstown rival before.
Ahead of the Cubs' 2016 World Series win, then-White House press secretary Josh Earnest said of Obama, 'The president is a loyal Chicago White Sox fan.'
'But the president is also a champion of his hometown, and he has been pleased to see the Chicago Cubs play so well this year,' Earnest said at the time.
In a statement, MLB commissioner Bob Manfred called Sandberg a 'legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise.'
'He was a five-tool player who excelled in every facet of the game thanks to his power, speed and work ethic,' Manfred said, recognizing Sandberg's '10 consecutive All-Star selections, nine straight Gold Gloves, seven Silver Sluggers and 1984 National League MVP honors.'
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