On This Day in History: Ryne Sandberg Announces His Return to the Chicago Cubs
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Chicago Cubs fans received an additional treat on Halloween in 1995, when legendary second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced that he'd be unretiring and returning to the team for the 1996 season.
Sandberg had retired midway through the 1994 season amidst a season-long slump and the feeling that he couldn't compete at a high level anymore. "Ryno" wound up returning not just for 1996, but also returned to the team for the 1997 season as well.
While not reaching the perennial All-Star levels Chicago fans had become accustomed to, the second baseman was serviceable in his first season back, finishing with a 97 OPS+ and a solid .444 slugging percentage across 150 games.
The 1997 season did not go quite as well for Sandberg, finishing with an OPS+ of 83 after 135 games, the same mark as it was when he retired in 1994, but it was nice for the franchise icon and 2005 Hall of Fame inductee to have one last run with a team he spent 15 seasons with.
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