Ryne Sandberg’s greatest moments

Fourteen-year-old me sat on the couch like many summer Saturday afternoons, watching my beloved Cubs on a tiny television set.

It was June of 1984 as I tuned in to their nationally-televised game on NBC against the rival Cardinals. Little did I know the event at jam-packed Wrigley Field would become forever known as “The Sandberg Game.”

Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg, only 24 at the time, became a legend that day on his way to a Hall of Fame career on the north side.

This week’s High Five — with a tear in its eye following Sandberg’s death last week — looks back at the greatest moments in his storied time with the Cubs.

5. Postseason prowess

In 1984, the Cubs made the playoffs for the first time in 39 years. In 1989, they returned to the postseason. While the Cubs lost both series, Sandberg didn’t disappoint.

In a five-game defeat to the Padres in 1984, Sandberg batted .368 with a .455 on-base percentage. In another five-gamer against San Francisco in 1989, he hit .400 with 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, 4 RBI and a 1.258 OPS.

4. The Sandberg game

In a June 23, 1984 home game against the Cardinals, the Cubs trailed 7-1 and 9-3 before pulling within 9-8 with a 5-run bottom of the sixth.

The score stayed that way until the ninth. St. Louis was banking on closer Bruce Sutter, a former Cub, to finish it off but Sandberg had other ideas.

His solo homer sent the game to extra innings. With the Cubs trailing again 11-9 in the bottom of the 10th, Sandberg launched a 2-run homer off Sutter to tie it again.

The Cubs won in 11 innings as Sandberg, who went on to win the National League MVP that season, went 5-for-6 with 7 RBI.

3. Homer happy

After retiring for most of the 1994 season and all of 1995, Sandberg returned to the Cubs in 1996.

He hit 27 home runs in his final two seasons, more than enough to pass Joe Morgan in 1997 for the most homers in MLB history by a second baseman.

Sandberg hit 277 of his 282 career home runs at second base, a record he held until Jeff Kent broke it in 2004.

2. Golden boy

In the 1980s, Sandberg set the standard for elite defensive second basemen.

Between 1983 and 1991, he won nine straight Gold Glove awards. Seven times he led the league in assists and four times he led in fielding percentage.

Six times he played at least 150 games at second base while committing fewer than 10 errors. In 1983 Sandberg helped turn 126 double plays, and in 1989 he set a record by playing 90 straight games without an error.

1. Hall call

Sandberg received the ultimate tribute to his 16-year career in 2005 when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Needing 75% of the votes to get in, he received 76.2%.

It was his third year of eligibility. Sandberg finished sixth with 49.2% of the votes in his first year of eligibility in 2003.

The following year, he was third with 61.1%. He finished behind Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley, who were both inducted in their first year of eligibility.