The death Thursday of former Cubs pitcher Scott Sanderson sent shock waves throughout baseball, as former teammates and longtime friends in the game mourned his sudden passing.
“Scotty was such a good guy,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who spent three seasons with Sanderson in Anaheim when Maddon was an Angels coach. “Really thoughtful, kind – oh man, just a wonderful man.
“I saw him at the Cubs Convention a couple years ago, and we really had a fun conversation. … It’s just a shame. I didn’t know he was that ill.”
Sanderson, a graduate of Glenbrook North High School, had battled throat cancer in the last year. He was 62.
The Cubs honored Sanderson before Thursday night’s game with a moment of silence and his image on the left-field video board.
A 1991 All-Star with the Yankees, Sanderson pitched for seven teams from 1977 to 1996, including the White Sox in 1994.
He went 163-143 with a 3.84 ERA in 2,561 2/3 career innings that included 407 starts.
Sanderson pitched on four playoff teams, including an 8-5 season with a 3.14 ERA for the Cubs in 1984 – the Cubs’ first postseason team since 1945. His six-year Cubs career also included the 1989 playoff season.
Sanderson also was a player agent after his playing days.
Longtime Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes joined the broadcast team after Sanderson’s career with the Cubs but often ran into him years ago at a youth soccer complex in Libertyville, where their kids played.
“I would see him there. I would see him in the off-season,” Hughes said. “He would occasionally come to Wrigley; he would sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
“He was one of those guys, I never saw him in a bad mood. He always had a smile on his face; he was always pleasant; he was cheerful, optimistic, and I’m just stunned with his passing today.”
