Quick Pitch: In 1984, Ryne Sandberg Ran Like a Cheetah, Not a Ryno

Fourth in a series of short player profiles spotlighting the peculiar and the noteworthy

With Ryne Sandberg’s recent hiring as interim manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, one achievement of his Hall of Fame career bears a closer look. Apart from his 1984 National League MVP, a home run title, two monster performances in the Chicago Cubs’ only postseason appearances since 1945 and stellar defensive play that culminated in nine Gold Gloves and the highest career fielding percentage ever by a second baseman, Sandberg’s 19 triples (tied with Juan Samuel) led the Majors in 1984, far outpacing such speedsters as Willie Wilson, Tim Raines and Willie McGee.

Spiking glaringly in Sandberg’s statistical record, those 19 three-baggers stand as one of the more anomalous marks in baseball annals. Prior to 1984, Sandberg had never hit more than five triples, nor did he leg out more than eight after that career-defining season.

In contrast, Juan Samuel followed his 19 three-base hits in 1984 with three consecutive seasons of double-digit triples. Yet Sandberg—fleet enough to swipe 344 bases in his career—quickly reverted to his norm, averaging a mere six triples per season during his Major League tenure (in 1984, he slammed six in June alone).

Sandberg hit as many triples in 1984 as he did home runs—a curious statistic in itself for a quantity that large—made more odd when considering that Sandberg averaged 15 more home runs than triples per season throughout his career. Further taking into account that cozy Wrigley Field is no haven for triples (Sandberg is the only Cub since Ron Santo in 1964 to lead the league in that category and the first to triple as often since Vic Saier in 1913), his 13 three-baggers hit in 79 home games in 1984 suggest that Sandberg knew all the holes in Wrigley’s ivy.

Perhaps most remarkable about Ryne Sandberg’s triples explosion of 1984 is that, on five separate occasions, he smashed a three-base hit in consecutive contests, at one point logging four in a span of nine July games. Sandberg’s surfeit of triples actually brought him within a single base of Dale Murphy—who out-homered him 36-19—for the National League lead in total bases.

Although triples play little role in attracting MVP votes, Sandberg’s surprising output of three-base hits surely helped earn him the 1984 NL MVP.

Spearheading, along with mid-season acquisition and eventual Cy Young Award winner Rick Sutcliffe, Chicago’s drive to its first postseason since the end of World War II, Sandberg peppered triples at clutch moments: two of them came in extra innings (one leading to a steal of home), five times he hammered a three-bagger with the game tied and nine times Sandberg crossed the plate after knocking a three-base hit—which, when considering that he led the NL in runs scored by eight, contributed mightily to that crucial honor.

There is no explanation for such a short-lived knack for hitting triples—but none is needed. Leading Chicago to a 25-win improvement over the previous season, Ryne Sandberg was, in 1984, what George Orwell might have called unreal. 

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Juan Pierre’s 500th RBI Leaves Maury Wills in a Class by Himself

On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Juan Pierre recorded his 500th career RBI, driving home Jimmy Rollins with a sharp single to left field.

This in itself denotes nothing remarkable, as more than a thousand players in baseball history have reached this plateau. But when one considers that Pierre notched his 500th RBI on his 2087th hit, well, one can’t help but notice how few RBI he has collected as a member of the 2000-hit club.

Sure, Pierre has spent the majority of his career as either a leadoff or No. 2 hitter, which, of course, strongly limits the amount of RBI opportunities across a career. But with more than 1000 players having amassed 500 RBI, but only 270 belonging to the 2000-hit club (including Carlos Beltran, who will reach the milestone with his next safety), more than 730 players were able to achieve 500 RBI on fewer than 2000 hits (some never even coming close to 2000).

Pierre actually had only 477 RBI when he achieved his 2000th hit last season, coming up just short of Larry Bowa, who knocked in his 480th RBI with hit No. 2000 in 1983, before cracking the 500 mark during the following season.

Such disparate totals generally belong only to slap hitters, whose role it is to get on base or who bat deep in the lineup. So it’s no surprise that the king of this category is one of the ultimate slap hitters, Maury Wills, whose 2000th hit drove in but his 421st career RBI.

Wills is the only member of the 2000-hit club not to reach 500 RBI, topping out at 458 RBI on 2134 career hits. He did play the bulk of his career in the latter-day Dead Ball era of the 1960s, but this is still an extraordinarily modest RBI total, owed in part to Wills’ phenomenal absence of power (a .331 slugging percentage, including an average of only 15 doubles a year by one of the speediest men in the game).

Other relatively punchless hitters in this class—all of whom possess slugging percentages below .400—include Richie Ashburn (2574 hits/586 RBI), Lloyd Waner (2459/598), Brett Butler (2375/578), Willie Wilson (2207/585), Tony Taylor (2007/598) and Dave Bancroft (2004/591).

Interestingly, Waner’s 2000th hit drove in his 499th RBI (his 500th RBI came three hits later).

At the time of Ashburn’s 2000th hit, in 1958, he had collected 475 RBI, which stood as the paltriest RBI total for a player with 2000 hits—until Wills seemingly put the dubious mark out of reach.

So congratulations to ever-hustling Juan Pierre for leaving behind Maury Wills and joining the ranks of the relatively meaningless 2000-500 club.

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