CHICAGO– Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg says he is cancer-free.
The Chicago Cubs star player made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday, nearly seven months after announcing that he was suffering from metastatic prostate cancer.
“This morning the bell rang! WE did it, WE won! What a dream team, family, doctors, friends, nurses, fans who have supported me and Margaret over the last 8 months! We feel so blessed by all the love, prayers and thoughts and positive words that have reached us! Modern medicine has made great strides so early diagnosis is once again important. Annual doctor visits! Time to celebrate! #Godisgood.”
Sandberg, 64, kept well-wishers updated on his progress via an Instagram account and said last month that scans had shown no signs of cancer.
Sandberg had a .285 batting average with 282 home runs, 1,061 RBIs and 344 steals in 16 major league seasons. He made his major league debut with Philadelphia in 1981 and played 13 games with the Phillies before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in January 1982.
Sandberg developed into one of the best all-rounders in the majors with the Cubs. He was selected to the All-Star team ten times and won the Gold Gloves nine times. He was also the NL MVP in 1984.
He was inducted into Cooperstown in 2005. In June, the Cubs unveiled a statue of Sandberg outside Wrigley Field at a ceremony hosted by Bob Costas, exactly 40 years to the day he hit two late home runs in a nationally televised victory over St. Louis. The statue, which depicts him crouching and waiting for a grounder, stands next to bronze tributes to fellow Hall of Famers Ferguson Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks. ___
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