At season’s end in less than a week, Ryne Sandberg, the greatest second baseman to ever play baseball, is retiring.

As a lifelong Cubs fan, this saddens me deeply, but I know it’s the right thing for Ryno. He has been playing for the Cubs since 1982 — a year before I was born — and has been my favorite baseball player ever since I was old enough to appreciate the sport.

However, since he has been playing 15 years, Ryno’s production has declined somewhat in the past year; it may be the right time for Ryno to step down for real.

Ryno is actually in his second coming, for he had retired after the 1994 season. But after sitting out in 1995, he decided to come back to the Cubs for another chance at the playoffs. In 1996, the Cubs were in it almost to the final weekend in September, and Sandberg’s 25 home runs were an integral part of an offense that had been hampered by an injury to Sammy Sosa.

This season, with Sammy Sosa healthy, and perhaps a little aging, Sandberg and the rest of the Cubs’ offense struggled. However, Sandberg is again among the club’s deep ball leaders.

Sandberg is like many other great Cubbies in one very important respect: He has never had the chance to play in the World Series. The closest was in the National League Championship Series in both 1984 and 1989. He was the National League MVP in 1984, and he led the Cubs to the NLCS before they fell to the Padres.

In 1989, he went 90 games without an error, and more impressively, hit 25 home runs in that span. The Cubs, whose pitching staff included Greg Maddux as a starter and Mitch Williams as a closer, lost to the Giants in a closely contested NLCS.

Sandberg holds several records, among them a 90-game error-free streak. But perhaps his most impressive record would probably be his most home runs of any second baseman in baseball history. He has hit close to 300 home runs.

Sandberg has a five-year ticket going nonstop to Cooperstown. In other words, he is going to the Hall of Fame after he fulfills the five-year waiting period.

In other news…

Hey, remember football season isn’t over yet. I may be an incorrigible optimist, but we still do have Missouri and Baylor on our schedule. Get out there and support the team whenever possible!

There are other sports as well, and get out whenever you can to support any Cyclone sport. The women’s soccer team is fresh off tripling the score against the Hawks. The team goes up against Texas Tech soon. Cheer them on!

Last, but not least…

The playoffs are rolling around again, and you know what that means. The Braves, Yankees, Orioles, Indians and Mariners are returning from last year’s playoffs, while newcomers are likely to be the Astros, Giants and the Marlins. At least I hope the Giants make it!

The winner of the World Series is going to be… (drum roll, please) the San Francisco Giants. Yes, they will crush the Dodgers and everyone else in their path, including the Braves and the Mariners. And as a special sidenote, the Cubs are going to win it next year. For sure, Sammy Sosa can’t leave without a ring. But I guess if Ryne Sandberg can, so can anybody.

See you next Thursday!

Jayadev Athreya is a sophomore in mathematics from Ames.