Farmers Weekly Review

By Nick Reiher

“Ah, crap,” I said, or something to that effect, to my editor, Randy Erickson, when we heard on the radio in our cramped office that the Cubs were moving Ryne Sandburg from third base to second.

We would sneak a listen to a Cub game when the bosses at Northwest Side Press in Jefferson Park were out; otherwise, it was WBBM, to make sure we didn’t miss any big news.

I wasn’t happy with moving “Ryno,” who in his first full year as a throw-in with Larry Bowa from the Phillies, performed better at the hot corner than anyone since my Cub hero, Ron Santo, left the team after the 1973 season.

Bowa, a slick-fielding shortstop who won a World Series with the Phillies in 1980, was thought by many to be the key in the trade of our slick-fielding shortstop, Ivan DeJesus, to the Phillies. But Sandburg turned out to be one of the best second basemen ever, certainly for the Cubs.

Then, there was “The Sandburg Game,” June 23, 1984. I was driving my Dad’s Chevy Nova from a newspaper assignment to my friend, Mary Jane’s, place, listening, as I always did to the Cub game when I couldn’t watch.

I remember it being hotter than snot that day, so the air in the car was blasting. I couldn’t believe it when he tied the game off Bruce Sutter in the 9^th. We had Sutter for a while, and he did great with his wicked split-finger fastball, but we got Leon Durham and Ken Reitz from the Cards for him in 1981.

The Cubs were starting to showing signs in 1984, with some great free-agent signings, of maybe, just maybe, turning the corner a bit. When the Cards went ahead by two in the top of the 10^th after Ryno’s heroics, I thought, “Well, there’s another corner around the corner.”

When he hit the second one in the 10^th to tie it once again, I had to pull over and appreciate the moment, i.e., scream and holler. They hadn’t won the game; Dave Owen would do that with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 11^th.

But Ryno had showed this team had some magic, resilience. It started to be fun, exciting, to watch or listen to a Cub game again. As they headed toward the playoffs, parking, always a challenge around Wrigley, skyrocketed to $25 in some lots … in 1984!

We’ll skip ahead; the playoffs that year damn near killed me. But Ryno continued to be clutch on the field and at bat, and always a class act.

Jump ahead a few more years; our daughter Jillian decided Ryne Sandburg was her favorite player, because he wore 23, her birthday day in May. During one game when she was a tot, she drew a picture for him, and we asked the Andy Frain usher (remember them?) to please give it to him.

We have no idea whether Ryno got it; he certainly must have gotten hundreds of notes each game.

I have to admit, though, I hoped as we listened to Ryno’s speech at his statue dedication June 23, 2024, 40 years after “The Sandburg Game,” I had hoped he would say, “I have to mention this picture I received from Jillian Reiher years ago. If you’re listening, Jillian, thank you. It made my day!”

Son Andy had bought the tickets to this recent game for Father’s Day for me, and a late birthday gift for Jillian. His friend, Mike, rounded out our group. We listened outside Gallagher Way, where the statue ceremony took place, deciding to get in line to make sure we received our Ryne Sandburg statue bobbleheads.

After an hour or so in a decent line, a cool breeze off the lake easing the mid-day sun, we got our bobbleheads. I was tempted to beat the traffic and head home then, but then we wouldn’t have gotten to hear Ryno and his family sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the 7^th Inning stretch.

Jillian said she got to see and do everything she wanted that day at the game. I can’t help but think we’ve come full circle here. I got to see a player from his beginnings with the Cubs, through the end of his career … and our daughter enjoy her favorite baseball player being honored for all time.

Ryno, thank you for all the memories. Best of luck with your health going forward. We’re all pulling for you, as always.

Nick Reiher is editor of Farmers Weekly Review.