Ryne Sandberg had one of best years in 1984. Amazingly enough, the Cubs did well too. With the help of Sandberg and the addition of Rick Sutcliffe who went 16-1, the Cubs finished first in the NL East and rolled into the NLDS.
Ryno had a banner year. Not only did he hit .314 and led the league in 114 runs but he hit 19 triples, also leading the league. He speed is apparent with 32 stolen bases to go with his decent power (19 HR).
All this added to his impeccable defense. Ryno won the Gold Glove in 1984 to go along with his well-deserved NL MVP award in just his third full year in baseball.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Totals | 156 | 700 | 636 | 114 | 200 | 36 | 19 | 19 | 84 | 32 | 52 | 101 | .314 | .367 | .520 |
Ok, there are good APBA cards and there are fun APBA cards. Ryne Sandberg’s 1984 card is both. Fun because of the 11-2, a triple in most situations. And fun because when you hit that 51-10, it’s usually a hit against an A pitcher.
The 1-2-6-6 is nice and when you combine with the 11-10-10 combination, it’s well, HOF worthy. Other bonuses: no 24s, he’s (F)ast, and of course, he’s rated as a 2B-9.
Speaking as a Cub fan, I can testify that Ryno was real deal. It was too bad the Cubs couldn’t quite pull it off in ‘84. It was close but playoff MVP Steve Garvey and the Padres had other ideas. There were a lot of reasons to not like Garvey but I can attest that Cub fans have extra reasons.
I remember that card, and really that entire team VERY well. That was the first year I realized I only wanted to play the Cubs season and did a replay just of them, and they did in fact win the division, and swept the Pads in the NLCS and lost in a 6 game classic to the Tigers.
Ryno was not alone with great a card on that roster. Jody davis had a great card, Bobby Dernier had an awesome card perfectly suited for the top of the order, Keith Moreland and Sarge had good cards too.
I never understood why Sutcliffe was given a B for that year though. I know he did not pitch like Cy Young in Cleveland, but do the numbers really drag his overall stats that much?