The Cubs had just hired Dallas Green as their general manager. For the past 2 years, he had been the Phillies' field manager, and had taken them to the 1980 World Championship. Prior to that, he had been the Phils' farm system director.
This is widely seen as a fleecing of the Phils by their former manager. Sandberg was moved to 2nd base, and became their best player of the last 50 years (1970 to 2020), making 10 All-Star teams, winning 9 Gold Gloves, batting .300 or better 5 times, receiving the 1984 NL Most Valuable Player award, and helping them win the National League Eastern Division title in 1984 and 1989. (They are now in the NL Central Division.)
Meanwhile, the Phillies went through several 2nd baseman, none of them as good as Sandberg, the best of them being Juan Samuel. As a result, the Phillies didn't win another World Series until 2008, 11 years after Sandberg retired, and 5 years after they got Chase Utley to play 2nd base.
This was a terrible trade for the Phillies, right?
Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame the Philadelphia Phillies for Trading Ryne Sandberg
5. No Place for Him. Sandberg was a natural shortstop. The Phillies had Bowa, although he ended up being traded with Sandberg. (Green wanted Bowa as an "extra coach on the field," and it worked.) They couldn't move Sandberg to 2nd base, because they had Manny Trillo. (But the 1982 season turned out to be his last with the Phils.) And they couldn't move Sandberg to 3rd base, because they had Mike Schmidt, often called the greatest player ever at that position. (He stayed through 1989.)
At the time of the trade, he had played just 13 games for the Phillies, mostly as a defensive replacement, getting 1 hit in 6 at-bats. He'd had very good seasons at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Oklahoma City, but, at age 22, did not yet look like a star in the making. Given what the Phillies had in the 1981-82 off-season, Ryne Sandberg did not look like an obvious keeper.
4. The Philly Boo-Birds. As John Facenda, the voice of NFL Films at the time, once said, "In Philadelphia, a fan learns to boo before he can walk." As Schmidt himself said, "Philadelphia fans would boo Santa Claus, an Easter egg hunt, a parade of armless war vets, and the Liberty Bell."
Schmidt knew this from personal experience: He was voted the team's greatest player ever in a Centennial poll in 1983, but he still got booed. A lot. And, yes, in an infamous incident during the halftime show of a 1968 Eagles game at Franklin Field, they did boo a man in a Santa Claus suit.
Sandberg was never booed at Wrigley Field. How would he have been treated at Veterans Stadium? If they would boo Schmidt and Santa, they would boo anybody. Would Sandberg's performance have suffered as a result? We'll never know. But, based on Schmidt's occasional slumps, we can guess.
3. The Ballparks. In spite of the heroics of Schmidt and Greg Luzinski, the Phillies' Veterans Stadium did not favor hitters much. The Cubs' Wrigley Field has wind that blows in half the time, making it a great pitcher's park. But it also blows out half the time, making it a great hitter's park.
Sandberg batted .285 for his career, collecting 2,386 hits, including 282 home runs, topping off at 40 in 1990. He would not have hit that well playing all his home games at The Vet.
2. The Phillies Were Better Off. With de Jesus at 2nd base, they won the NL Pennant in 1983. With Mickey Morandini at 2nd base, they won another Pennant in 1993. True, they didn't win the World Series either time. But the Cubs didn't win a Pennant between 1945 and 2016. Over the course of Sandberg's career, the Pennant count was Phillies 2, Cubs 0.
1. Sandberg Might Not Have Mattered. In 1983, he batted .261 with 8 homers and 48 RBIs. Those aren't great totals, although he did steal 37 bases. He was not yet a star. The Phillies won the Pennant, but lost the World Series to the Baltimore Orioles in 5 games.
2. The Phillies Were Better Off. With de Jesus at 2nd base, they won the NL Pennant in 1983. With Mickey Morandini at 2nd base, they won another Pennant in 1993. True, they didn't win the World Series either time. But the Cubs didn't win a Pennant between 1945 and 2016. Over the course of Sandberg's career, the Pennant count was Phillies 2, Cubs 0.
1. Sandberg Might Not Have Mattered. In 1983, he batted .261 with 8 homers and 48 RBIs. Those aren't great totals, although he did steal 37 bases. He was not yet a star. The Phillies won the Pennant, but lost the World Series to the Baltimore Orioles in 5 games.
Would having Sandberg instead of de Jesus have helped? Maybe: de Jesus batted just .125 in the Series. But maybe not: The Phillies batted just .195 as a team, and the O's held them to 9 runs.
In 1993, when Sandberg was a 34-year-old superstar, the Phillies lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays in 6 games, including the rainy, epic 15-14 loss in Game 4 and the 8-6 loss in the Joe Carter Game in Game 6.
In 1993, when Sandberg was a 34-year-old superstar, the Phillies lost the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays in 6 games, including the rainy, epic 15-14 loss in Game 4 and the 8-6 loss in the Joe Carter Game in Game 6.
Would having Sandberg instead of Morandini have helped? Maybe: Morandini batted just .200 in the Series. But Sandberg would have had to make 2 games' worth of difference, in a Series where the Jays had home-field advantage.
In what other season might Sandberg have made a difference? In 1982, they were 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East, but that was his rookie year, and he might not have made 3 games' worth of difference.
In what other season might Sandberg have made a difference? In 1982, they were 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL East, but that was his rookie year, and he might not have made 3 games' worth of difference.
They won the Pennant in 1983 and 1993, but, in between, never got closer than 15 games out in 1987. They won the Pennant in 1993, but had losing seasons for the rest of his career.
In other words, the Sandberg trade had a far greater effect on the Cubs than it had on the Phillies. The Cubs gained a great deal: That 1984 season, broadcast nationwide on "superstation" WGN, brought them lots of new fans from coast to coast, and may have saved Wrigley Field for at least 2 more generations. The Phillies may have lost at least a Division title in 1982 and the 1993 World Series, but that's hardly conclusive.
VERDICT: Not Guilty. Even if the Cubs had won 5 World Series with Sandberg, the Phillies needed more than him, on top of what they already had, to win even 1 more World Series, and considerably more to win even 1 more Pennant than they did.
In other words, the Sandberg trade had a far greater effect on the Cubs than it had on the Phillies. The Cubs gained a great deal: That 1984 season, broadcast nationwide on "superstation" WGN, brought them lots of new fans from coast to coast, and may have saved Wrigley Field for at least 2 more generations. The Phillies may have lost at least a Division title in 1982 and the 1993 World Series, but that's hardly conclusive.
VERDICT: Not Guilty. Even if the Cubs had won 5 World Series with Sandberg, the Phillies needed more than him, on top of what they already had, to win even 1 more World Series, and considerably more to win even 1 more Pennant than they did.