Craig Counsell, Cubs honor Ryne Sandberg in solemn postgame clubhouse

New York Times

29-07-2025

MILWAUKEE — Monday night was as quiet as the Chicago Cubs clubhouse has been after a game in a long time. No music played. No loud conversations were had, nor was any laughing heard. As reporters filed into the clubhouse at American Family Field, players sat at their lockers, quietly looking at their phones.
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The heavy silence had nothing to do with the 8-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. No one was lamenting that the Cubs had fallen one game back of first place in the National League. Their only thought was about the loss of a team legend. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg died earlier in the day at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer.
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— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 29, 2025
Manager Craig Counsell addressed the team after the loss and provided the news of Sandberg's passing. Counsell had heard before the game, and a few others learned during the game. He then spoke to the gathered media in the visiting manager's office.
'We're saddened of the loss of a great man,' Counsell said. 'We were lucky as a group this year to have Ryno at spring training. It was an honor to be around a man battling for his life but wanting to come to the baseball park with us. I know it meant a lot to everyone in there, and we're grateful that he was willing to spend that time with us when things weren't going great for him. It's a sad day for the Chicago Cubs. He was a great Cub.'
Next to Counsell, written on a dry-erase board, was the quote, 'I never had a job. I just always played baseball.' Taken from the great Satchel Paige, the words ring true for the love Sandberg had for the game as well. Counsell's sentiment on how much it meant that Sandberg just wanted to be around the team despite not feeling his best was echoed by others.
'It was never about him, ever,' Nico Hoerner said. 'It was just truly love of the game of baseball. I think that was particularly clear this spring and all the effort he made to be there throughout more than we can even imagine, treatment and everything. There was nothing he wanted more than to be on a baseball field and to share that time and be present with that. We're all incredibly lucky that he was a part of our season this year.'
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Matthew Boyd signed with the Cubs this past winter. Sandberg quickly made the newest Cub feel welcome.
'I got to meet Ryno for the first time this spring, and he treated me like I'd worn a Cubs uniform my whole life,' Boyd said. 'I think that spoke to who he was for this organization and an ambassador for the game of baseball. It's a loss, and we're going to miss him.'
Despite proving to be one of the best defensive second basemen in the game currently, Hoerner knows he'll always be looking up to Sandberg and his nine Gold Gloves. That he was always willing to talk to Hoerner and share little things, like bringing over the types of gloves he had, knowing Hoerner was interested, stood out.
'He more than anything just wanted to talk about baseball,' Hoerner said. 'The things we were doing that were different than what they did then, things he saw. Never came from an angle of him having everything figured out; he just wanted to be on the field and talk about the sport that he loved and that loved him.'
Hoerner talked about how Sandberg 'redefined' the second-base position by pairing an elite glove with an impact bat. The legend won an MVP in 1984, a season that began a string of 10 straight All-Star selections. Counsell marveled at the fact that Sandberg hit 13 triples at Wrigley Field that year, 19 in total. He turned himself into a power hitter years later, slugging 40 homers in 1990, a mark that only four other second basemen have topped in a season.
Last summer, the team displayed the ultimate form of respect during the unveiling of Sandberg's statue on Gallagher Way. Taking a break from their pregame preparation, more than 40 players and coaches walked out onto a perch overlooking the ceremony as they joined many who had come to honor one of the greatest Cubs of all time.
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'I know it was a special moment for the guys to be able to do that,' Counsell said. 'I think you get a sense of his place as a Cub and his place in baseball. That was an inspiring moment just to be there, for the people gathered there, to honor Ryno. I won't forget that, for sure.'
(Photo of Ryne Sandberg before the Field of Dreams game against the Cincinnati Reds: Jeffrey Becker / Imagn Images)