Today is the 38th anniversary of the game that cemented Ryne Sandberg as my favorite baseball player. On NBC’s Game of the Week (when that mattered) against arch-rival St. Louis, Sandberg hit game-tying home runs in the ninth and tenth innings to help the Cubs come back from a 9-3 deficit to win 12-11 in 11 innings.
Sandberg finished the game 5-6 with two home runs and seven RBI. He earned the National League MVP that year, leading the Cubs to their first post-season appearance since 1945. It still brings me chills thinking about it.
Major League Baseball put together a highlights package focusing on Sandberg’s two late-inning home runs.
The Marquee Sports Network also produced a great documentary about the game a couple of years ago:
Until the 2016 season, this game was the most important in my time as a fan of baseball. Watching the Cubs win a World Series added a few games to that list. But for as long as I think about baseball, I’ll remember how happy I was watching the Sandberg game make #23 a national star.
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