Three weeks ago while listening to Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn speak of becoming the newest inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame (www.baseballhalloffame.org), I wondered about the feeling that comes with that monumental phone call.
My inability to grasp what getting such a call would be like reminded me of the line Brad Pitt’s character used in Meet Joe Black to describe death. “Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I’m talking about.”
Under 300 people know that indescribable feeling.
Currently, there are 280 individuals elected to Cooperstown, including 227 players, 17 managers, eight umpires, and 28 builders, executives and organizers.
 "It’s still somewhat overwhelming really," former Chicago Cubs star Ryne Sandburg says of being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. |
One of them is the longtime Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.
“There’s 62 living Hall of Famers, it’s very elite. It’s very cool,” said Sandberg, who recently visited Charlottesville for the University of Virginia’s Step Up to the Plate dinner. “I was just a kid, who played in the front yard, played on the street corners, and I played Little League. All I wanted to do was play and see how good I could be. Everything else just happened.”
Sixteen seasons, all but one in Philadelphia, nine Gold Gloves, a National League MVP, and a 10-time All Star—all just “happened”.
“There’s been some relief there,” said Sandberg. “For two years, it seemed like every time I’d run into fans, and there are a lot of Cubs fans and baseball fans in the Midwest, they’d say, ‘You should be in the Hall’ and ‘Good luck getting into the HOF.’”
“I think it’s the greatest honor in all of sports, the Baseball Hall of Fame. It’s still somewhat overwhelming really. I went last year, my second year, in the HOF, and I was around the guys,” Sandberg pauses. “Still, like a big fan of theirs…walking around…seeing a lot of them and sometimes forgetting I’m now on their team. So maybe that will never sink in.”
Sandberg’s message at the Virginia function wasn’t about making the Hall of Fame but rather making the most of everything that comes these Virginia ballplayers’ way.
“It’s just a great opportunity not to just get a great education but to play baseball at this level. I think they have a tremendous league [the Atlantic Coast Conference] and a player that can stand out in this league is headed to the pros.”
Sandberg’s knowledge of talent will lead him this spring to his next career as manager of the Single A Peoria Chiefs. “I’m looking forward to that,” said Sandberg. “It’s just something that came my way. The Cubs presented it to me and I thought that might be something I’d like to do right now. So the timing was perfect.”
Perfect? Nothing ever is. But for Sandberg, his life with baseball was darn close.
Wes McElroy hosts “The Final Round” on ESPN 840am. Monday-Friday 3-5pm.