Longtime Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced Monday he has been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and has begun treatment.
“Last week, I learned that I have been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer,” Sandberg, 64, wrote in an Instagram post. “I have begun treatment, and I am surrounded by my loving wife Margaret, our incredibly supportive family, the best medical care team, and our dear friends. We will continue to be positive, strong, and fight to beat this.”
“Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time for me and my family,” he added.
Sandberg won nine straight Gold Glove Awards during his 16 seasons in the big leagues and was named an All-Star for 10 consecutive years, from 1984 to 1993. The National Baseball Hall of Fame refers to him as “one of the game’s best second basemen.”
He began his career in 1981 with the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him out of high school, and was traded to the Cubs after that season, according to the Hall of Fame website. By the time he retired following the 1997 season, the Spokane, Washington, native held “the record for most Gold Glove Awards by a second baseman (nine), the most consecutive errorless games by a second baseman (123) and the most home runs by a second baseman (277 of his 282 home runs came as a second baseman),” according to the site.
In a statement, the Chicago Cubs wrote, “Ryne, we’re sending love, strength and support your way.”
“With locked arms, we are rallying around you and your family on the journey ahead to conquer this battle,” the team said.
Sandberg was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
Jane Forbes Clark, who chairs the Board of Directors at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, said in a statement the institution had Sandberg “and his wonderful family in our thoughts.”
“Part of what made Ryne a tremendous talent on the field was his quiet intensity, and we have no doubt he’ll bring the same tenacity to this fight,” she wrote. “During this difficult time, we join Cubs fans in Chicago, and baseball fans everywhere, in sending love and support to Ryne and Margaret and the entire Sandberg family.”