John Blanchette

July 31, 2005

Three feisty Yorkies – Bella, Nala and Tessa – burst through a sliding door and harshly herald Ryne and Margaret Sandberg's entrance into the back yard of their Phoenix home.

This, apparently, is to shoo off either the swarms of birds chatting it up in the olive trees or any hostile foursome that might be playing the Biltmore Country Club, which sits just beyond the Sandberg's fence. If you're curious, he's playing to about a 1 handicap these days.

Playing it straight down the middle, naturally.

Sandberg, his wife, Margaret, and friends relax outside their Phoenix home. (Brian Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)

It's been more than a year since the Sandbergs sold the house they'd built in the Ahwatukee Foothills and purchased this $2.5 million home in the Biltmore Estates, not necessarily for the history although it's fitting. From Sandberg's back yard can be seen – well in the distance – the top of the renowned Biltmore Resort Hotel, built in 1929 and owned for 44 years by one William Wrigley, who lent his name to another famous structure where Ryne Sandberg launched his Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Cubs.

That's Wrigley Field, of course – which still sees his shadow once in a while.

Sandberg's legendary reserve and reluctance would have suggested that he'd be keeping an almost nonexistent public profile in retirement, but that's not the case at all.

"He's very content and he's enjoying the family life," said his brother, Del, "but he likes his (public) appearances, too. He's not afraid to be in front of people. He's more relaxed and at ease with himself."

If there's an agent of that happy change, it's likely the woman at his side. Sandberg married Margaret Koehnemann in August 1995, a year into his abrupt first retirement. Irresistibly buoyant and gregarious, she not only endorsed Sandberg's decision to return to the game in 1996, she was a rabid cheerleader – just as she's been with the endeavors that have followed in his second retirement. She's served as the social chairman in the Hall of Fame whirlwind that has in some ways overwhelmed Sandberg himself.

"She's brought me a lot of happiness," Sandberg said, "and it's fun to share this moment with her."

There is plenty to go around. On the day of Sandberg's election to the Hall, the anytime minutes were getting burned in bulk, with the news being relayed between his children Lindsey and Justin, and also Margaret's three children – B.R. (a Cubs media relations assistant), Steven and Adriane – from her first marriage.

"I remember I was brushing my teeth when I found out," said Justin, who plays baseball at Pepperdine and this summer for the Bellingham Bells. "I'd totally forgotten it was the day they were announcing it and I called my sister and all my brothers – everybody was calling each other. And my dad – you couldn't describe how he was feeling."

At this point, the Sandbergs are virtual empty-nesters, and even before the Hall of Fame summer they spent a considerable amount of time traveling. Some of it was following Justin's progress at Pepperdine, but they also get back to eastern Washington to relax at the family retreat at Lake Gillette near Colville.

"It's pretty funny," Sandberg said. "Margaret's a city girl – her record up there is one week. My goal is to spend a month up there one time."

"I'll miss you," Margaret laughed.

Ah, but funnier still is what Sandberg's become in his non-leisure hours: a writer and talking head.

Aside from assisting with the Cubs infield instruction during spring training, Sandberg has so far resisted the notion of coaching in the major leagues on a fulltime basis. But he still yearns to be around the game.

So he's signed on with Yahoo Sports as one of its baseball web commentators – writing up to four times a week on topics as varied as possible player movement as the mid-season trade deadline approaches, to the top weekend series, to a weekly ranking of baseball's top 10 teams.

He also started doing commentary last year on games aired on WMVP radio in Chicago, a huge shock for the writers and broadcasters who struggled mightily to pull quotes out of Sandberg the player. Sandberg acknowledged the irony, but noted that he's "more at peace with myself" and feels more comfortable in this public setting than he did as a player.

As an analyst, he's not Charles Barkley – but he aims for frankness and even displays a sense of humor, as when he was asked how it felt to be a member of the media.

"Nobody told me I would have to be part of the media," Sandberg told a reporter. "All bets are off."