Sandberg’s Voice Trumpets Character and Courage

By Craig Muder

Ryne Sandberg came to Cooperstownthis weekend to recount how his personal belief in character and courage led him to the Hall of Fame.

Thousands of fans apparently support those beliefs, as a large crowd gathered at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on Saturday to celebrate Character and Courage Weekend.

Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg talks to a group of students during the Museum’s Fitness First Clinic on Saturday in Cooperstown. The Clinic was part of Character and Courage Weekend at the Hall of Fame. (Milo Stewart, Jr./NBHOF Library)

In front of a packed house at the Museum’s Grandstand Theater, Sandberg – a 2005 Hall of Fame inductee – shared his personal convictions and how they mesh with the Hall of Fame’s new Be A Superior Example program. Throughout his three-day stop in Cooperstown, Sandberg talked to children and adults about the BASE message of healthy choices and the ability to lead a life free of performance-enhancing substances.

“This is something I believe in, but I never need a reason to return to Cooperstown,” Sandberg said. “I love coming here.

“This is the first time I’ve been here in the fall, and the colors outside are beautiful and the (Museum) is buzzing with people.”

Sandberg helped launch the Museum’s online BASE registry during the fifth-annual Character and Courage Weekend, which celebrates the timeless values ofAmerica’s National Pastime. The BASE registry allows participants – especially youngsters – to learn about healthy choices through a 15-minute online multimedia program, and then pledge to Be A Superior Example through the registry, which lives online and is searchable at the Museum’s BASE exhibit.

For more information or to participate in the BASE program, please visit www.beasuperiorexample.org.

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum