Reading will retire Sandberg's jersey July 2
"I remember really learning the game here," Sandberg said of the Phillie Way during his last visit to Reading in 2001. "That's what I maintained the rest of the time - playing hard and aggressive, getting your work in and going about the game the right way."
In July of 2005, Sandberg became the second former Reading Phillie to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He will also be the second to have his number retired. Mike Schmidt, a 1971 R-Phil, was enshrined in Cooperstown in 1995 and had his number 24 retired by Reading in 1991. Jackie Robinson's number 42 was retired by the R-Phils, along with the rest of affiliated baseball, in 1997.
Sandberg, who was inducted into the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, was drafted by Philadelphia in 1978 and worked his way up to Reading for the 1980 season. He made the Eastern League All-Star squad as a shortstop that year while hitting .310 and leading the league in fielding percentage (.964).
Sandberg played just 13 games for Philadelphia in 1981 and in January of 1982 he was traded to Chicago along with Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus. "Ryno" would spend the remainder of his Major League career with the Cubs. Sandberg made the transition to the keystone sack in 1983 and promptly earned a Gold Glove award. It was the first of his record nine consecutive Gold Gloves. In 1990, he set a new mark for consecutive errorless games by a second baseman with 123. When his career came to a close after the 1997 season Sandberg's lifetime fielding percentage stood at .989, the best ever for a second baseman.
Sandberg also earned a spot on the National League All-Star team nine times. In 1984, his first All-Star season, he led the Cubs to the NL East title - their first post-season appearance in 39 years. His performance that campaign (.314, 19 HR, 84 RBI, 114 R, 32 SB) was worthy of National League MVP honors. Seven times in his 15 big league seasons Sandberg scored 100 or more runs and three times he led the league in that category. He also won the NL home run crown in 1990, slugging a career-high 40 round trippers. His classic blend of power and speed is evidenced by career totals of 344 stolen bases and 282 home runs. At the time of his retirement, no other second baseman in the history of the game had hit as many long balls. In addition to home runs (5th) and stolen bases (4th), he ranks in the Cubs' all-time top ten in nine other offensive categories: runs scored (3rd with 1,316); extra-base hits (4th with 761); doubles (4th with 403); hits (4th with 2,385); at-bats (4th with 8,379); total bases (5th with 3,786); singles (4th with 1,624); runs-batted-in (7th with 1,061); and walks (9th with 761).
Though his number 23 jersey has not officially been retired, no Cubs player has worn it since Sandberg's final season.