Ryne Sandberg reacts to getting a Cubs statue, cancer battle |
Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg's special day is coming Sunday as his new Cubs statue will be unveiled.
'Ryno' knows that he couldn't have accomplished what he did in the majors without so many talented teammates. "My career will be well-represented by my teammates, and that goes a long way with me,” Sandberg said on Friday's Mully & Haugh Show. “I’ve always talked about my teammates and what they’ve meant. A guy doesn’t get a statue without teammates. No question about that.” Sandberg continues to battle a very aggressive cancer with a low-level chemo. “I have a new appreciation for anyone who’s gone through cancer and gone through chemotherapy,” Sandberg said. “Mine is a very unusual type, very aggressive, and will never go away completely. So, I'm getting it down to the bare minimum with chemo, and now I'm going through radiation. But from Day 1, I never laid around. I walked around outside; I walked the dog. My wife and I walk around the town we live in. Sandberg understands that he is blessed that the medicine is working and grinds with his health battle like he did back in his playing days. “My strategy just took me back to my playing days of playing hurt, playing with the flu. Getting a couple of hits and running the bases was pretty good medicine back in the day. Playing with bumps and bruises. I took my mentality and my makeup, that’s kind of how my strategy with this was. With my family, the kids, and the grandkids, I've always been upbeat, and I’ve always sounded good. What I say is I feel good. Because comparatively speaking, in December and early January, that did not feel good. With medicine that was working, that was very positive. All I can say is blessed. Sandberg's teammates have been rallying around him since the cancer news. “These teammates have stepped up in the last six months, calling and texting, some that I haven’t even heard from in the last 20 years. But we’re teammates for life. That’s the small world of baseball. What great medicine that was to have them reach out in the last six months and check in with me. “They definitely will be a big part of the weekend for me.” Ahead of Ryne Sandberg’s statue being unveiled Sunday, his #23 is featured on the outfield grass: pic.twitter.com/xizXymFMIF
