Baseball world mourns death of Ryne Sandberg as tributes pour in: ‘Class act'

New York Post

29-07-2025

The baseball world mourned the loss of Ryne Sandberg on Monday night after the beloved Cubs great died after battling prostate cancer.
Sandberg had been diagnosed with the disease in January 2024 and seven months later said he was cancer-free before revealing in December that his cancer had returned and spread to other areas of his body.
3 Ryne Sandberg, who died Monday, is introduced before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for game three of the National League Division Series between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on October 12, 2015.
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The 65-year-old had been heralded for his play in the field and at the plate and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.
His passing on Monday left a sizable hole in the hearts of the baseball community at large as tributes poured in.
'For all of us who love the game of baseball, we lost one of the best to ever play second base. Ryne Sandberg. #23. Tremendous player and all around great guy. RIP Ryne. You fought courageously,' Orioles great Jim Palmer wrote on X.
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Fellow Chicago sports icon Frank Thomas, who played 16 seasons for the Cubs' crosstown rival, the White Sox, described Sandberg as a 'class act.'
'RIP Ryno! I just don't know what to say about this,' Thomas wrote in his tribute. 'Getting to know you and Margaret on our flights to Cooperstown was always amazing. You teasing me about being my wife's favorite player ever. You were always a class act. You will be missed by my family and so many others!'
3 Ryne Sandberg during the induction ceremony for him and for Wade Boggs on Sunday, July 31, 2005.
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The son of Bears legend Walter Payton, Jarrett, wrote, 'RIP Ryne Sandberg' on X along with a photo of the Cubs player.
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Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay called Sandberg's passing 'just terrible news' as he announced it during the YES Network broadcast of Monday's Yanks game against the Rays.
Chipper Jones reacted to the news on social media with a post of his own, sadly observing how quickly some of baseball's greats have been passing on.
'Dude, Dawg, Stud, MVP, HoFamer! I am sad tonite…..we are losing them too fast and too often!' Jones wrote.
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3 Second baseman Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs stands on the field during a 1992 preseason game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
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And in Chicago, outside of Wrigley Field, a lone rose had been placed on the statue of Sandberg along Gallagher Way.