RIP Ryne Sandberg And This Baseball Card That Every Millennial Fan Had
Sandberg played with the Chicago Cubs for 15 seasons.
Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg unfortunately passed away on Monday at the age of 65 after a bout with metastatic prostate cancer. Make no mistake about it, Sandberg was without a doubt one of the most talented infielders throughout the 1980s and '90s, playing with a focus and intensity that managers would beg to have their players play with today.
Although many Cubs fans will mourn the passing of their 10x All-Star, 9x Gold Glove winner, an entire generation of baseball fans, regardless of what team they root for, will also remember Sandberg for one of his baseball cards that everyone seemed to have growing up.
There it is.
The Ryne Sandberg 1984 Topps #596 card.
Tell me that doesn't bring you back to your childhood?! If you were born in the ‘70s or ’80s, and cared even a minimal amount about baseball, you absolutely recognize this card. No one knows why, or how, but for some reason this Sandberg card was an automatic within a millennial's card stash.
Perhaps that's why Sandberg's death hit me a bit differently when I heard the news of his passing.
BASEBALL CARDS HOLD A SPECIAL PLACE OF NOSTALGIA
Just looking at that card, I can immediately envision myself in the elementary school cafeteria with my baseball buddies as we flipped through cards. We weren't huge collectors, we were just kids, but every once in a while, we'd be at the grocery store with one of our parents, and they'd buy a pack of cards at the register. We couldn't wait till Monday to show the cafeteria table what gems we were able to find.
*There was no Internet back then, kids! Many times we learned opposing teams' rosters from baseball cards!
As soon as we went home, we'd put those cards in our binder, next to a plethora of other Sandberg cards as well
With the 65-year-old's passing, comes a sense of loss for the good ol' days of just being a kid without a worry in the world.
For many of us, flipping through the dusty baseball card binder will hit differently when we come across the Sandberg Topps 1984 card, as it means much more than just a game.