The Chicago Cubs will pay tribute to one of their all-time greats with special jerseys during their game against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday.
Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Fame second baseman who played for the Cubs from 1982 to 1997, passed away on Monday, July 28, after a battle with cancer. To honour his memory, all Cubs players in Saturday’s game will wear jerseys with Sandberg’s number 23 on the back.
The jerseys will be the Cubs’ royal blue alternate jerseys. The number 23 will appear in the usual red font with white outlines for that jersey. They won’t have nameplates, though, reflecting the fact the Cubs didn’t have names on the backs of their home jerseys during the majority of Sandberg’s time with the team.
Along with the jersey tribute, a giant number 23 has been painted behind home plate at Wrigley Field.
Saturday’s game is also the wrap-up for the Cubs for a Cure fundraising campaign, which is fittingly raising money for Stand Up to Cancer. Fans can add the names of loved ones impacted by cancer to a signing wall at the game, and there will also be a “placard moment” at the end of the fourth inning, during which “players and fans will hold up a placard in recognition of cancer survivors, those currently in the fight and those who have passed.” One of the ceremonial first pitches will be thrown out by oncologist Dr. Sigrun Hallmeyer, and the seventh-inning stretch will be conducted by local TV reporter Mike Lowe, who is currently battling colorectal cancer.
A special pregame tribute to Sandberg and a moment of silence will be held before the Cubs’ game on Friday, August 1.
