The Chicago Cubs will pay tribute to franchise legend Ryne Sandberg on Saturday, days after the Hall of Famer died following a battle with cancer.
Crane Kenney, the team’s President of Business Operations, told 670 The Score in Chicago that the Cubs will wear blue jerseys on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles — their first home game since Sandberg’s death — with every player sporting No. 23, Sandberg’s number, and no names on the back.
The jerseys will then be auctioned off postgame with proceeds benefiting cancer research as part of Cubs For A Cure.
“The whole day will be Ryno’s day on Saturday,” Kenney said.
The day after Sandberg’s death was announced the Cubs debuted a special jersey patch that they will wear for the remainder of the season. The blue patch on the left shoulder features Sandberg’s No. 23 and his signature.
Sandberg, who was 65, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. He played all but 13 games of his 16-season MLB career with the Cubs. He joined the majors in a brief stint with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1981 and was traded the following offseason to Chicago. He became a full-time starter in his first season with the Cubs in 1982 and made the first of 10 straight All-Star appearances in 1984 — a season where he would claim NL MVP.
It was revealed in January 2024 that Sandberg had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. Last July, he informed fans that scans had shown no signs of cancer and he later rang the bell, signaling that his body was cancer-free after an eight-month battle.
This past December, Sandberg revealed that the cancer had returned and spread to other organs in his body.
A beloved Cub known on the field for his production and reliability, Sandberg played in at least 115 games in 14 of his 15 seasons in Chicago. He played in fewer than 150 games just four times. In June, the Cubs unveiled a statue of Sandberg outside of Wrigley Field.
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