This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO – Shawon Dunston spent many years as the middle-infield partner and locker neighbor of Ryne Sandberg during their time with the Cubs. They were good friends even longer. And when Dunston watches the current Cubs team, he sees a little bit of Sandberg around the diamond.
“There’s a lot of Cub players who play like Ryno and they act like Ryno,” Dunston said earlier this week on MLB Network. “The Cub players play like Ryno. They come to the plate, they battle, and they’re out to beat you. And they’re quiet and then they go home and go about their business, and that’s that. That was Ryno.”
Dunston was emotional as he spoke about Sandberg, who passed away on Monday at the age of 65 following a battle with cancer. The long-time Cubs shortstop rattled off the names of Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker, Matt Shaw and Michael Busch as players who remind him of his former teammate in both their team-first play and quiet, business-like personalities.
Happ smiled when asked about Dunston’s comments.
“It means the world to me,” Happ said. “I thought his words were powerful and I thought it was amazing of him to go on and do that. And to mention me, as someone who embodies the way that Ryno went about his business, it’s about the highest compliment you can receive.”
Swanson was also touched by Dunston’s remarks.
“That’s very, very kind of him to say that,” Swanson said. “I think there’s a lot of us in this clubhouse that just want to win and do everything we can to win. It doesn’t matter who gets the glory, because this is a group, it’s a team effort always.”
During Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee, the Cubs debuted a sleeve patch featuring Sandberg’s signature and No. 23. The team will have that on their uniforms for the rest of this season as they push for a place on the October stage. And in a way, the group on the field is representative of the kind of player Sandberg was in his Hall of Fame career.
Sandberg was known for his blend of power, speed and impeccable defense.
“He kind of redefined the position a little bit as far as what’s possible,” Hoerner said. “Having an impact bat at second base, while still winning nine Gold Gloves. He hit 19 triples in one season, which is kind of unfathomable. Just an all-around dynamic player, and person as well. His love for the game was just so obvious.”
This 2025 Cubs team is one of the top overall defensive units in baseball, while featuring a lineup that ranks near or at the top in the game in home runs, extra-base hits, stolen bases and runs scored. That reflects the kind of all-around athlete Sandberg was for Chicago.
“I thought about that the other day, actually,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he would really enjoy watching this team, because of some of the things that we’ve been able to be successful with.”