What is Ryne Sandberg's Net Worth?
Ryne Sandberg is a former professional baseball player, manager, and coach who has a net worth of $16 million. Ryne Sandberg played 16 seasons in MLB between 1981 and 1997, mostly with the Chicago Cubs. Among his career accomplishments, he won seven Silver Slugger Awards and nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards, and was the National League MVP in 1984. In 2013, after a number of years managing minor-league teams, Sandberg became manager and coach of his original team, the Philadelphia Phillies. As we detail in the next section, in the early 1990s, Ryne was the highest paid baseball player in the world.
Highest Paid Baseball Player & Career Earnings
At the peak of his career in 1992, Ryne was the highest-paid player in major league baseball. At that point he earned $7 million per year in salary. That's the same as earning $14 million per year today after adjusting for inflation.
In his career, Ryne earned a total of $25 million in salary.
Early Life and Education
Ryne Sandberg was born on September 18, 1959 in Spokane, Washington to nurse Elizabeth and mortician Sandy. As a teenager, he attended North Central High School, where he played both baseball and football. After graduating in 1978, Sandberg committed to Washington State University, but decided not to attend after he was chosen in the 1978 MLB amateur draft.
Philadelphia Phillies
Drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, Sandberg began his professional baseball career in the minors with the Pioneer League team the Helena Phillies. In his rookie season, he batted .311 with one home run and 23 RBI in 56 games. Sandberg moved up to the Class A Spartanburg Phillies of the Western Carolinas League in 1979. That season, he batted .247 with four home runs and 47 RBI. In 1980, with the Class AA Reading Phillies of the Eastern League, Sandberg hit .310 with 11 home runs and 79 RBI. He played one more year in the minors, with the Class AAA Oklahoma City 89ers in 1981. In his 133 games before he was called up to Philadelphia, Sandberg batted .293 with nine home runs and 62 RBI. Closing out the year in the majors, he batted .167 in 13 games for Philadelphia.
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Chicago Cubs
Before the 1982 season, Sandberg was traded to the Chicago Cubs in what was eventually considered one of the best trades in modern Cubs history. In 1983, he won his first of nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards. Sandberg subsequently had his breakout season in 1984, batting .314 with 19 home runs and 84 RBI; earning his first of seven Silver Slugger Awards; making his first of ten consecutive All-Star games; and earning National League MVP honors as the Cubs won the NL East title. The season was marked by "The Sandberg Game," a game against the St. Louis Cardinals in which Sandberg helped the Cubs come back from behind to win in the 11th inning. He had another strong season in 1985, batting .305 with 26 home runs and 83 RBI and posting a career-high 54 stolen bases. Sandberg continued playing at a high level throughout the remainder of the decade.
In 1990, Sandberg recorded a milestone by leading the National League in home runs, with 40. Moreover, he batted .306 with 100 RBI, and played an MLB-record 123 consecutive games at second base without an error. In 1991, Sandberg again recorded 100 RBI, and picked up his ninth and final Gold Glove Award. He won his seventh and final Silver Slugger Award in 1992 as he batted .304 with 26 home runs and 87 RBI. Sandberg had his first truly underwhelming season in 1994, and after just 57 games that season decided to retire from baseball. However, he would later return to the Cubs for the 1996 and 1997 seasons. After the latter season, Sandberg retired for good; his career batting average was .285 and his career home runs stood at 282. He also retired with a .989 fielding percentage, a record at the time for an MLB second baseman.
Post-playing Career
Sandberg mostly stayed out of the spotlight after retiring from playing. He reemerged in 2004 as an analyst for ESPN Radio 1000, and in 2005 he became the spokesman for National City Bank. Also in 2005, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The following year, Sandberg began his managerial career by becoming manager of the Cubs' Class A team the Peoria Chiefs. In his first season with the Chiefs, he led the team to the Midwest League championship game. Sandberg was promoted to the Class AA Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League in late 2008. A year later, he was promoted to the Class AAA Iowa Cubs.
In late 2010, Sandberg left the Cubs to become manager of the Phillies' Class AAA team the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He went on to lead the team to its first-ever playoff appearance. After the 2012 season, Sandberg was promoted to third-base coach and infield instructor for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was soon promoted to interim manager of the team, and then permanent manager after the 2013 season. Sandberg retired as manager during the 2015 season when the Phillies had the worst record in MLB. The next year, he became a goodwill ambassador for the Cubs.
Personal Life & Real Estate
Sandberg's first wife was his high school sweetheart Cindy, with whom he had two kids named Justin and Lindsey. The couple divorced in 1995. Shortly after that, Sandberg wed Margaret. The pair co-founded the charitable foundation Ryno Kid Care, which assisted children with serious illnesses.
Ryne and his split their time between a house in Phoenix and a lakefront property near Lake Michigan. In 2004 they paid $2.8 million for a home in Phoenix. They sold this home in May 2017 for $1.925 million. They bought their 4-acre Lake Michigan property, in the Illinois town of Lake Bluff, for $1.1 million in 2016.
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