Ryne Sandberg was a 21-year-old September call-up with the Philadelphia Phillies when he traveled to Chicago in 1981 for his first game at Wrigley Field.
"Once I stepped foot (on) the field," the Peoria Chiefs manager recalled Tuesday, "I was in awe of the whole situation."
Then-teammate Mike Schmidt was in the middle of a National League MVP season, and the Cubs were heading toward a last-place finish. According to baseball-reference.com, Sandberg sat for the first of a three-game series. He made an appearance in the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 27, and singled in his only at-bat.
Exactly four months later - Jan. 27, 1982 - Sandberg and Larry Bowa would be traded to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus. Sandberg would win the MVP in 1984, and finish his 16-year Hall of Fame career with 2,386 hits, 282 home runs and one retired number.
"Yeah, I made sure they saw the flag," Sandberg said before Tuesday's game at Wrigley against Kane County. "Maybe they'll listen to me a little bit better."
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