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 One of the great things about having your own blog is the ability to write about anything you want to write about. We take full advantage of that here at Cobra Brigade, and since the Cubs didn't play last night....and not much of anything else happened, I'm going to take some time to write about my favorite Cubs player of all-time....Ryne Sandberg.
 I wanted to be Ryne Sandberg in the worst way growing up. I may have played shortstop in Little League, but when I was out throwing a tennis ball against the wall near my house I was the second baseman for the Chicago Cubs. I thought it was meant to be because my middle name is Ryan and although it's spelled differently....I thought I could play like him. I tried to play defense like Sandberg, I even motioned to the second baseman with an open mouth/closed mouth sign to tell him who would be covering second base on a steal attempt. I even mimicked Sandberg's swing from time to time when mine was out of whack. I knew that I would be susceptible to a breaking ball low and away, but there aren't many kids able to throw that pitch as a 10-year old. I even had my Grandma call me 'Ryno' when I would come to the plate during my games....all the way through my college career. I tried not to wear the #23 because I grew up at a time when Michael Jordan ruled the world and I didn't want people to get confused as to who the number was for....but I wear #23 now when I play softball.
In a world were kids love Mike Vick, what drew me to Ryno? Consistency. You knew what you were going to get out of Sandberg every game of the season. Great defense, good offense, smart base-running and very little talking. Sandberg was the definition of 'speak softly and carry a big stick'. He wasn't the quote machine that Mark Grace was, he wasn't the media whore that Harry Caray (rest his soul) wanted to be. He did what he did, he did it well and he went on his way.
I could have easily turned this into a post where I spouted off statistics, MVP and Gold Glove Awards. I didn't want to write about the time when Whitey Herzog said Sandberg was one of the best players he'd ever seen. That isn't the reason why he became my favorite player. While it's great that one day I'll be able to tell my kids that my favorite player is in the Hall of Fame, that wasn't my reasoning when I first started watching him. I wanted a player who played the game the right way and with respect....and he did that first and foremost.
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2008 Cubs Preview
I used to tell my little brother that Ryno hit the ball so far because he had a slight "pigeon-toed" stance...
With that kind of help from a big bro.....I'm surprised your brother turned out as well as he did....
Jeez, and to think my favorite players growing up were Darryl and Dwight. I feel robbed of a fulfilled childhood.
Hey now, that is some very important information...only someone with a keen eye can pick up on these things...
I'm amazed that you made it through your childhood Jordi. You should feel a sense of accomplishment
Great post Jack.
here's the link to his HOF speech, which i feel is one of the best I've ever heard. Especially as one of HOF'ers from the "Modern" era of baseball.
http://www.cubsnet.com/node/526
Wow, thanks for that Klompus. I was going to link to the audio clip of it, but I know how people hate those things.
2nd greatest Cub trade ever. First is when they traded that bum Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio.
I thought that Mark Prior for Miguel Tejada and Erik Bedard trade was pretty....nope we didn't make that one, damnit.
For me, there are 2 favorites. Sandberg (of course) and Dawson were at the top of the list. I think I identified with Dawson for some of the same reasons as Cobra did with Sandberg. I grew up playing RF in little league so the Hawk was the man. Of course, I hit for 0 power and have no arm unlike Dawson. If anyone puts Sosa down, they should be banned.