Ryne Sandberg doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame, his name doesn't even belong on a ballot.
I went to Cooperstown 2 summers ago, half those players don't belong in there. They are not the "elite" of the game.
Ryne Sandberg is not an "elite" second baseman, good yes, great maybe, but not elite.
Who would you consider to be the elite second basemen of Sandberg's era?
Here's a list of the other 2B HOFers:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/hofst2b.shtml
He looks pretty elite to me.
Ridiculous. He was the best second baseman of his time. He won 9 gold gloves and held the record for homers by a second baseman. He played in the 80's, which is a decade of baseball that often looks lackluster when compared to the homer-happy 90's.
And the Hall of Fame isn't meant to honor just "the elite"; guys like Ruth, Aaron, Mays, Cobb, Williams, etc.
There are plenty of great players worthy of the Hall who didn't reach THAT status, but were great.
Apparently there are 393 people that sat in the dugout or the press box that disagree with you.