Sandberg seeks identity apart from famous name

Rays need third baseman to improve bat and go easier on himself.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published March 21, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Ryne Sandberg made a pretty good name for himself during a 16-season major-league career that included 10 All-Star selections, nine Gold Gloves, two postseason appearances, a National League MVP award and a probable Hall of Fame induction.

Now nearly five seasons into retirement, Sandberg said he's excited -- "I think about twice as excited as I was for myself" -- about watching his nephew, Jared, establish himself as the starting third baseman for the Rays.

"I'd be out to dinner and I'd catch myself stopping and checking a TV to see how he did that day," Ryne Sandberg said. "A couple times they'd say something like 'Sandberg was 2-for-4' and I got a big kick out of that. I'd check the paper every day to see how he's doing.

"It's kind of neat to see that name out there again."

Like most children, younger siblings, nieces and nephews of superstars, Jared Sandberg wants to be known more for what he does than who his relatives are.

Ask about his dad's famous younger brother and Jared will answer politely, though he'd just as well talk about his twin sisters playing college softball. Yes, he and Ryne are close, "about as close as we can be." Yes, Ryne has helped him along the way. No, they don't talk often on the phone. Yes, Ryne has watched him play in the minors. No, Ryne hasn't seen him as a major-leaguer yet. Yes, he understands there always will be questions about his uncle. No, he doesn't particularly enjoy them.

"There is all this hype of Jared Sandberg being Ryne Sandberg's nephew," Jared said. "My goal when I first signed was to go out and work hard and make a name for myself, to be the best I could be and not let people think he's just here or he's just playing a lot because his name is Sandberg, that they're just trying to give him a chance because of what Ryne did.

"I guess being here in Tampa Bay, being far away from Chicago and not playing the Cubs, the pressures of following in his footsteps aren't as great as if I was playing in Chicago. I try not to think about, try not to worry about whose footsteps I follow in and just try to be my own person."

Ryne, now a part-time spring training instructor for the Cubs, and Jared chatted a few years ago about issues that might come up in being the next Sandberg. "We talked about making that more of a positive than a negative," Ryne Sandberg said. "And it seems like he's doing that. I've had a lot of people in spring training -- fans, different players, scouts -- tell me they've seen Jared and he's doing okay."

Actually, Jared's doing better than okay. Barring a late change of plans or unexpected acquisition, it looks as if the 24-year-old will be the starter.

General manager Chuck LaMar admits that the Rays rushed Sandberg to the majors in August, that he wasn't ready and that it was unfair to put him in that position. He played solid defense but hit .206 in 39 games.

Manager Hal McRae's question coming into spring was whether he'd hit enough to hold the job based on his defense. "I guess it was if I hit 'a little bit,' if I show him I'm not overmatched like at the end of last season or that I'm over my own fears or overthinking or whatever and I gain some confidence and I tell myself I can hit at this level," Sandberg said.

Sandberg is hitting .219, and though he apparently will be in the lineup, LaMar said he still may not be ready. "We're looking for a third baseman," LaMar said. "Just because he wins the job doesn't mean he's truly ready to play in the major leagues."

For whatever comparisons are made to his uncle, for whatever competition he faces, Sandberg's toughest challenge is inside his head. Apparently it is quite the battle.

Sandberg is extremely tough on himself, doubting and overanalyzing each action to the point at which sometimes there is no reaction. "I get in there and the pitcher starts his windup, either I'm focused and it's just me and the pitcher and it's 'See the ball, hit the ball,' " he said. "Or the pitcher goes into his windup and I'm still thinking about other things, my last at-bat, an error in the field, and all of a sudden the pitch is there and it's a good pitch to hit and I freeze and I can't pull the trigger because my mind's not clear."

The Rays have talked to him about the self-flagellation, and McRae made it very simple. "He told me there is no worrying here," Sandberg said. "Either you worry down in Durham or you play here and go out and have fun and not worry about anything."

If Sandberg does that, he could be pretty good. "A Scott Rolen-type," catcher Toby Hall said.

Heck, maybe good enough that people might start calling a former Cubs second baseman Jared's uncle.

"That," Ryne Sandberg said, "would be a good thing."