The thing I think all of us will always remember about Ryne Sandberg’s first retirement announcement, 25 years ago today, was the corncob dress his wife Cindy was wearing at the news conference.
Sandberg, who had been a star player for the Cubs for more than a decade, had been hit in the wrist by a pitch by Mike Jackson of the Giants in spring training 1993. He missed more than a quarter of that season and his power appeared gone. He had hit 26 home runs in both 1991 and 1992, but dropped to nine in 1993, and his hitting had suffered again in the first two months of 1994.