The Sandberg Game: A Landmark In Cubs And Baseball History

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Ryne Sandberg of the Chicago Cubs bats during a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Jun 23, 2011 - In 2005, Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame after a stellar 15-season career with the team.

But on June 23, 1984, 27 years ago today, Sandberg was a third-year second baseman just beginning to find his groove, as were the Cubs, which hadn't made the postseason in 39 years. Unexpectedly in first place early in the 1984 season, they had lost six of their last seven and dropped to third in the NL East as their division rivals, the Cardinals, arrived at Wrigley Field for a weekend series.

The Cubs won the first game of the set 9-3 and the second game was scheduled for a Saturday-afternoon national TV date on NBC, who then did the "Game of the Week" in an era when cable and satellite delivery was new and many baseball fans still hadn't seen Sandberg play.

The Cardinals raced out to a 7-1 lead against Cubs starter Steve Trout, who didn't make it out of the second inning. It was 9-3 by the bottom of the sixth when the Cubs scored five and chased St. Louis starter Ralph Citarella. And there it stayed until the bottom of the ninth, when Sandberg, who had driven in four runs already in the game, led off the inning with a home run off former Cub Bruce Sutter, then the game's premier closer. The Cubs got the winning run into scoring position with one out but couldn't get him in, and the game went into extra innings.

St. Louis promptly took an 11-9 lead off Cubs reliever Lee Smith, and Sutter got the first two outs easily in the last of the 10th. It appeared the Cardinals had won the game when Sutter looked like he slipped a third strike past leadoff man Bob Dernier.

But plate umpire Doug Harvey ruled the close pitch ball four, and Sandberg came to the plate.

Sandberg homered again. If you have ever seen video of this, the angry look on Sutter's face as he took the ball for the next hitter is priceless.

In the last of the 11th, the Cubs loaded the bases on a walk, a steal and then a pair of intentional passes. Dave Owen, a utility infielder who batted only 93 times that year, became the instant answer to a trivia question by lining a single to right to win it for the Cubs 12-11. (Another bit of trivia: Willie McGee hit for the cycle for the Cardinals that day in a losing effort; he is the last visiting player to cycle in Wrigley Field.)

Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog called Sandberg's performance one of the greatest he had ever seen and dubbed Sandberg "Baby Ruth". Sandberg went on to win the MVP Award.

But most important, it was a game that put the Cubs on the national scene as a serious playoff contender, after years of failure, and Sandberg on the map as a superstar. Sandberg, now in exile of sorts as a Triple-A manager in the Phillies organization, will be beloved by Cubs fans forever for his stellar career ... and for his seven-RBI, five-hit, two-homer performance on June 23, 1984.

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Al Yellon

Editor

Al Yellon is a Cubs fan. For that, he hopes you will indulge him. He's seen Cubs failures since 1969, including the agonizingly close playoff misses in 1984 and 2003. For that, at least a bit of... Read full bio

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Comments

Love this

I’m not a Cubs fans, but I identify with Cubs fans, their connection to Sandberg and his importance to the franchise. Every baseball fan remembers one or more games like this for their favorite team. Those games and those special players are what keep us connected to baseball through the years.

Thanks for the post.

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by hangingsliders on Jun 23, 2011 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

Am I missing something?

I’ve seen this game referenced scores of times over the years, and had always thought RS had hit 3 HRs and probably a GS in there somewhere. 2 HRs and 3 singles?

I understand it was on national tv back when that was a big deal, but in and of itself it is not quite worth the hype as a performance.

by Freneau on Jun 23, 2011 2:33 PM EDT reply actions

Two game-tying home runs off the game's best closer in the bottom of an inning...

… in which they otherwise would have lost. Seven RBI.

Yeah, that’s a pretty big deal, I’d say.

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by Al Yellon on Jun 23, 2011 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions

What Al said....

Plus they weren’t using steroids back in those days so multiple HR’s didn’t happen frequently. The fact that he hit 2 do or die HR’s off the games best closer was remarkable.

by LT on Jun 23, 2011 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions

it may not have been the greatest game ever

but it was one of Sandberg’s and as Al points out, it put the Cubs and Ryno on the map.

I'm going to the 2012 Randy Hundley Fantasy Camp!!! Who's with me?

by VegasCubFan on Jun 25, 2011 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

RE: Am I missing something?

Will, you’re an idiot.
You seem to be missing, or just plain lacking, the common knowledge, experience, and appreciation a true fan of the game of baseball possesses.

So you don’t think going 5 for 7 at the plate with 7 RBIs, slugging two huge game-tying home runs, both while representing the final out of the game and facing the most dominant closer of the time, doesn’t deserve the hype it’s been given?

Then what the heck kind of performance do you think deserves the appropriate hype???

by Ryan Michaelis on Jul 7, 2011 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions