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CHICAGO (Reuter) - The Chicago Cubs have agreed to terms with future Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg on a one-year contract with a club option for 1998. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The 37-year-old Sandberg, one of the best second basemen in the history of the league, returned to the Cubs -- the team he has played all but 13 of his 2,029 career games for -- prior to the 1996 season following a year-and-a-half retirement.
The 1984 National League Most Valuable Player batted .244 with 25 homers and 92 RBI last season for Chicago. Sandberg committed just six errors at second base last season for a .991 fielding percentage, a fraction behind Cincinnati's Bret Boone for the best mark among NL second basemen.
Sandberg won the 1984 MVP when he batted a career-high .314 with 19 home runs and 84 RBI in leading the Cubs to the NL East title. He became the first Cub to win the MVP award since Ernie Banks in 1959.
Sandberg is the only second baseman in major league history to win nine Gold Glove awards. He set a major league record for consecutive errorless games by an infielder (excluding first basemen) with 123 straight games from June of 1989 to May of 1990. Sandberg did not commit an error in his final 90 games of the 1989 season, setting the longest single season errorless streak for a second baseman.
Despite missing 45 games in an injury-plagued 1993 season, Sandberg hit .309, his highest average since 1984. However, he had only nine homers and 45 RBI.
Sandberg has 270 career homers with 265 as a second baseman, the second-highest total in major league history at that position, one behind Joe Morgan. His is three RBI short of 1,000 for his career.
Sandberg became the first major league second baseman to make nine starts in an All-Star Game and the first second baseman to make eight consecutive All-Star starts, though he was not named to the team last season. His 10 All-Star appearances rank second in club history behind Banks' 14.
Sandberg had career highs with 40 home runs and 100 RBI in 1990 and also knocked in 100 runs in 1991. He was the first second baseman to lead the NL in homers since St. Louis' Rogers Hornsby hit 39 in 1925.
He was traded to the Cubs by the Philadelphia Phillies along with shortstop Larry Bowa in exchange for shortstop Ivan DeJesus in January of 1982.