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Second to Home: Ryne Sandberg Opens Up
Sure-to-be Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg could have loafed through the remaining years of a $28 million contract. It's been done before in baseball. But "Ryno," the Chicago Cubs perennial All-Star second baseman, gave it all up one sunny Monday in June 1994. His mid-season retirement startled sports pundits and fans everywhere.
Now Ryno tells his story. Why he left the way he left. As he reviews his 17-year career, this reticent man now discloses what he never felt comfortable discussing as an active player. Here are the contract details. Here, at length, are discussions of players, coaches, managers, and general managers with whom he spent 17 years of professional baseball. Here are batting tips that converted him from a singles hitter to a feared home-run slugger.
Here is Ryne the human being, Ryne the father, and Ryno the ball player. Here is the Ryne Sandberg that no one ever knew - until now.
Now Ryno tells his story. Why he left the way he left. As he reviews his 17-year career, this reticent man now discloses what he never felt comfortable discussing as an active player. Here are the contract details. Here, at length, are discussions of players, coaches, managers, and general managers with whom he spent 17 years of professional baseball. Here are batting tips that converted him from a singles hitter to a feared home-run slugger.
Here is Ryne the human being, Ryne the father, and Ryno the ball player. Here is the Ryne Sandberg that no one ever knew - until now.
- GenresBaseballSportsNonfiction
313 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 1991
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69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 1, 2011
As a baseball fan, I found this book to be very interesting and a great read. Ryne Sandberg was a great baseball player, and he comes off as an equally great person in this book. I bought this book because Ryno was named manager of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, and we go to a lot of their games, so I was hoping to get it signed. I was pleasantly surprised reading it. You need not be a Cubs fan or a Sandberg fan (but how could you not be) to enjoy this book. Ryno covers his career, but he also gives a very interesting look into the back dealings of baseball. I found the time period covering Larry Himes regime to be the most interesting, I mean, the guy basically ignored Greg Maddux allowing him to become a Brave. What a mistake! Anyway, if you are a baseball fan, or just want to read a book about a great human being, this book is a can't miss.
November 3, 2018
I should start this review by saying that Ryne Sandburg was (and still is my favorite professional athlete), so I may be a bit biased as to the quality of this book. For the average person, this is probably more like a 3 star book. However if you are a Cubs fan, who grew up watching the Cubs in the ‘80’s and early ‘90’s this is a fun read. Ryno walked through each season of his career. He discusses a lot of players and coaches who I hadn’t thought about (or remembered) for decades. There are some great stories here too. Ryno goes into detail about the Himes regime, which was tough, but he doesn’t come off as overly bitter; more disappointed. I’m probably a bigger fan of his after reading the book. The writing style is pretty basic, but I enjoyed that because it sounds like Ryno speaking, not sentences crafted by a professional writer.
January 27, 2020
I'm biased, Ryno is my favorite baseball player of all time
January 11, 2022
On June 13, 1994, Ryne Sandberg stunned the baseball world when he suddenly announced his retirement in the early part of the season. He was not injured and was still at the top of his game at the age of 34. Although he came back to play in the 1996 and 1997 seasons, this book was published during his first retirement and those years are not part of this rendition of his career.
Sandberg was truly a superstar, his fielding records at second base were incredible. While his fielding percentage was very high, so were his fielding chances, so he was not one of those that stuck to making the simple plays. He was a man that led by example, he was not a yeller, he simply did it right for others to see.
While justified, it is a bit unfortunate that his career will forever be remembered by what is known as “the Sandberg game.” It took place on June 23, 1984 at Wrigley field. Sandberg hit home runs in the ninth and tenth innings to tie the game both times against then bullpen ace Bruce Sutter. I watched that game live and was stunned at the achievement. For at the time, Sutter was practically unhittable.
This is a great book written by a humble man, there is no embellishment in his achievements or bravado in his tone. Therefore, when Sandberg describes the actions of Larry Himes, general manager of the Cubs during the early 1990’s in rings true. Sandberg is blunt in talking about him as a man of gross incompetence and inability to truly run a baseball team. It is difficult to question this assertion, given that Himes allowed a veritable all-star team of players to leave the Cubs. Arguably the best pitcher in the major leagues in the 1990’s, Maddux wanted to stay a Cub but was really not wanted by Himes.
There is much insight into the collapse of the Cubs in the early nineties when they could have been a contender. Ryne Sandberg is also honest about himself, his team, players in general and why the Cubs failed to succeed. One of the most interesting insights was about Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. He was known for performing repeated fake pickoff moves while on the mound. Watching it at home, it seemed absurd, for it never fooled anyone. As Sandberg states it, Sutcliffe was pitching in pain and on guts, so those fake moves were designed to give time for the ache in his arm to subside.
This is a great sports book. Sandberg has told a story about why it is sometimes time to quit before the skills really begin to fade.
Sandberg was truly a superstar, his fielding records at second base were incredible. While his fielding percentage was very high, so were his fielding chances, so he was not one of those that stuck to making the simple plays. He was a man that led by example, he was not a yeller, he simply did it right for others to see.
While justified, it is a bit unfortunate that his career will forever be remembered by what is known as “the Sandberg game.” It took place on June 23, 1984 at Wrigley field. Sandberg hit home runs in the ninth and tenth innings to tie the game both times against then bullpen ace Bruce Sutter. I watched that game live and was stunned at the achievement. For at the time, Sutter was practically unhittable.
This is a great book written by a humble man, there is no embellishment in his achievements or bravado in his tone. Therefore, when Sandberg describes the actions of Larry Himes, general manager of the Cubs during the early 1990’s in rings true. Sandberg is blunt in talking about him as a man of gross incompetence and inability to truly run a baseball team. It is difficult to question this assertion, given that Himes allowed a veritable all-star team of players to leave the Cubs. Arguably the best pitcher in the major leagues in the 1990’s, Maddux wanted to stay a Cub but was really not wanted by Himes.
There is much insight into the collapse of the Cubs in the early nineties when they could have been a contender. Ryne Sandberg is also honest about himself, his team, players in general and why the Cubs failed to succeed. One of the most interesting insights was about Cubs pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. He was known for performing repeated fake pickoff moves while on the mound. Watching it at home, it seemed absurd, for it never fooled anyone. As Sandberg states it, Sutcliffe was pitching in pain and on guts, so those fake moves were designed to give time for the ache in his arm to subside.
This is a great sports book. Sandberg has told a story about why it is sometimes time to quit before the skills really begin to fade.
October 24, 2023
I'm glad I read this book as I had forgotten - why did Sandberg retire, when did he retire, and whoah it was in middle of the season???? I don't know why I had forgotten this but it was right before the strike of 1994 and got buried. And now I know the reason Sandberg retired when he probably could have played another five years. He says the answer is missing his family. No, it's Larry Himes. This book was great and made me remember other great Cub players. His stories on the teams from 1984 to 1991 are great - especially 84 and 89. But when he starts going off on Himes - the book falls absolutely flat. If this book was 200-225 pages instead of 270 and he cut the chapter on how much he hated Himes to one chapter - yeah that works. But he goes off on him for around four chapters and it just gets....old. We get it. The dude stinks. Traded everyone and didn't sign anyone and he's horrible. But by the third chapter and 30 pages of it I almost started to hate Sandberg. We get it. You're old school. I love that. But it was soooooooo much overkill. Cubs fans will love and then should just end by page 200. Glad I read though as he's a great favorite Cub player of mine.
April 28, 2021
Ryno is my favorite Cub who I was blessed to see him play his entire career. I understand why he left the game when he did but now I wonder what changed his mind to come back again which happened after this book came out. Now I understand what was behind Greg Maddux and Andre Dawson leaving and so many bad moves made by the Cubs in the early nineties. I admire, respect, and am amazed by his integrity, work ethic, and performance. He was as close to perfection on and off of the field as anyone could get and we were all blessed to have had him.
April 19, 2021
I liked this book. It is a bit dated but I learned a lot about Ryne Sandberg and the Cubs in the 1980s and 1990s. He’s a humble, hard-working, and well-liked player. I found this good book at a thrift store for $2. Nice.
September 2, 2017
If you're a Cubs and Sandberg fan, it's an interesting read. Otherwise, it's not Ball Four.
September 22, 2020
It gave me insight on Ryne Sandberg career and how much he loved playing for the Cubs. Also, show me how much that Larry Himes was dislike by the team
August 21, 2022
Pretty good. Interesting to see the perspective of an old-school/traditional player. A lot of the book is simply directed at bashing the Cubs GM at the time and some of its aspects are very outdated. Still a very interesting book from the great player Ryne Sandberg was.
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June 2, 2015I though this was a great book about baseball. It showed what it was like for him as a miner leaguer, major league rookie, veteran, and a retired player. My favorite part of the book was probably when he talked about the 1984 series. I found it amazing how I could picture the fans in the ball park stay late after games and cheering. He said it was the most fun year for him and the fans. I wish I could have been apart of that season. (Besides the enormous collapse in the playoffs) one main reason I liked this book was because Ryne had a personality that was easily relatable. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the game of baseball. This book is a great representation of the game itself and how it has changed over the years.
December 30, 2012
I've been a Ryne Sandberg fan for my entire life and am impressed by what Ryno has to say about how baseball has impacted his life and how it has changed for the better/worse during his career. Not the best written sports memoir of all-time, but a revealing look at one of America's most under-appreciated athletes.
June 6, 2009
This book is great! I love Sandberg's theory on how he only played baseball because he liked it- unlike some players, who just play for fame and money. It also shows what a good person Ryne is.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews