Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Matt Szczur paid homage to team icon Ryne Sandberg via a unique means: art.
Since retiring, Szczur has built up a following on Instagram (125,000 followers) and TikTok (19,200 followers) posting, among other things, videos of himself painting. His most recent project was a tribute to Sandberg, a Hall of Fame Cubs infielder who died on Monday at 65 years old.
“Ryne Sandberg wasn’t just a baseball legend,” Szczur wrote in the post’s caption on Instagram. “He was a quiet leader, a true professional, and one of the greats we ALL looked up to. Grateful for everything he gave this game and all of us who loved it. Sharing time with Ryne on and off the field are memories I’ll never forget. Rest in peace, Ryno.”
The video of Szczur creating the portrait shows the former Major Leaguer incorporating a number of baseball-themed methods into his process, including hitting cups of paint off a batting tee and throwing paint overhand onto the canvas.
Sandberg spent 15 of his 16 MLB seasons with Chicago after being traded to the Cubs by the Philadelphia Phillies ahead of the 1982 season. He would go on to amass 10 All-Star nods and nine Gold Gloves while in the Windy City, winning National League MVP in 1984.
Szczur played only four major league seasons in Chicago, but his time with the organization was memorable for another reason — he was part of the 2016 Cubs squad that ended the team’s 108-year World Series drought.