Thursday, January 06, 2005

Celebrating Sandberg! -- the "Sandberg Game"

In 1984 Ryne Sandberg was a third year Major League Player. He had won a Gold Glove for his play at 2B in '83. Outside of Chicago Sandberg was an unknown. That would all change on June 23, 1984. On NBC's Game of the Week Sandberg entertained Cub fans with one of the best individual performances in team history.

I consider the "Sandberg Game" to be one of the top 5 Cub games of the past 30 years. There are games that you remember where you were while you watched. This was one of those games. I wasn't old enough to sit in the bleachers, so I watched this game at home in my bedroom on a black and white tv. I turned the game off several times, but something kept me inside on that beautiful summer afternoon (maybe it was the thrill of seeing the Cubs on national tv) and something made me turn the tv back on each time I turned it off. When Sutter came in I thought the game was over. What happened next is still unbelievable to me even as I watch it on ESPN Classic -- 20 years later.

Ryno brought us many thrills as a Cub fan. But there's only one game that holds his name. Here's the boxscore for the "Sandberg Game":


Chicago Cubs 12, St. Louis Cardinals 11

DayGame Played on Saturday, June 23, 1984 (D)
at Wrigley Field
STL N 1 6 0 - 0 0 2 - 0 0 0- 2 0 -- 11 13 1
CHI N 1 0 0 - 0 2 5 - 0 0 1 - 2 1 -- 12 14 2

BATTING
St. Louis Cardinals AB R H RBI BB K PO A
L. Smith lf 4 1 1 1 1 0 3 1
Sutter p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ramsey ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rucker p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lahti p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
O. Smith ss 4 4 2 0 2 1 0 7
McGee cf 6 3 4 6 0 0 3 0
Hendrick rf 5 0 1 2 1 1 0 0
Green 1b 5 0 1 0 0 1 10 1
Braun ph 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Jorgensen 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Herr 2b 6 1 3 0 0 1 4 4
Howe 3b 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
Allen p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Landrum lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Salas ph,lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Porter c 4 0 0 0 2 0 5 0
Citarella p 3 1 1 1 0 2 0 0
Van Slyke 3b 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2
Totals 46 11 13 11 9 9 30 16

FIELDING -
DP: 1.
E: Porter (2).

BATTING -
2B: McGee (6,off Smith).
3B: McGee (6,off Trout).
HR: McGee (2,6th inning off Noles 1 on, 1 out).
IBB: Porter (6,by Bordi); Van Slyke (5,by Frazier).

BASERUNNING -
SB: O. Smith 2 (20,2nd base off Noles/Davis,2nd base off Smith/Davis); L. Smith
(17,2nd base off Stoddard/Davis); Van Slyke (11,2nd base off Smith/Davis).

Chicago Cubs AB R H RBI BB K PO A
Dernier cf 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 0
Sandberg 2b 6 2 5 7 0 0 2 7
Matthews lf 5 0 2 1 1 1 1 0
Durham 1b 5 1 1 0 1 0 16 0
Moreland rf 4 1 0 0 2 1 3 0
Davis c 3 0 0 0 3 1 9 0
Cey 3b 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3
Stoddard p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hassey ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Frazier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Woods ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Smith p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Owen ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Bowa ss 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
Trout p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Bordi p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Johnstone ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Noles p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brusstar p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hebner ph,3b 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
Totals 42 12 14 12 9 5 33 14

FIELDING -
E: Dernier (1), Davis (10).

BATTING -
2B: Matthews (10,off Citarella); Dernier (10,off Allen).
HR: Sandberg 2 (9,9th inning off Sutter 0 on, 0 out,10th inning off Sutter
1 on, 2 out).
HBP: Cey (2,by Citarella).
IBB: Davis 2 (7,by Sutter,by Lahti); Moreland (2,by Lahti).

BASERUNNING -
SB: Dernier (27,2nd base off Citarella/Porter); Matthews (8,2nd base off Sutter/Porter);
Durham (11,2nd base off Lahti/Porter).

PITCHING
St. Louis Cardinals IP H HR R ER BB K
Citarella 5.1 7 0 5 5 2 3
Allen 1.1 3 0 3 3 2 2
Sutter 3.1 3 2 3 3 2 0
Rucker L(1-1) 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
Lahti 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Totals 10 14 2 12 12 9 5

Chicago Cubs IP H HR R ER BB K
Trout 1.1 5 0 7 7 3 1
Bordi 3.2 2 0 0 0 2 3
Noles 0.2 3 1 2 2 1 0
Brusstar 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1
Stoddard 1 0 0 0 0 1 2
Frazier 2 1 0 0 0 1 2
Smith W(4-4) 2 2 0 2 2 1 0
Totals 11 13 1 11 11 9 9

WP: Citarella (1).
BK: Trout (1).
HBP: Citarella (1,Cey).
IBB: Sutter (2,Davis); Lahti 2 (5,Moreland,Davis); Bordi (2,Porter); Frazier
(1,Van Slyke).

Time of Game: 3:53 Attendance: 38,079

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