In those qualities, he was similar to John Stockton, a future basketball Hall of Famer who attended Spokane's Gonzaga Prep High School at about the same time.
Along with NFL quarterback Mark Rypien of Shadle Park High School, the three athletes dominated Spokane prep sports in the late 1970s.
"That's pretty incredible for a small town like that," Sandberg said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, shortly after his election to Cooperstown. "They take their sports very seriously up there."
"Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I think that's where I established the work ethic I maintained through my whole career," Sandberg told reporters. "A lot of that comes from the hardworking attitude that's in Spokane."
Sandberg is only the second graduate of a Washington high school to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The other is Earl Averill, a 1920 graduate of Everett High School, who was inducted in 1975.
Numerous other Hall of Famers have passed through Spokane over the years, including former Spokane Indians Stan Coveleski, George Kelly, Duke Snider, Hoyt Wilhelm, Tommy Lasorda and Don Sutton. George Brett is a co-owner of the Spokane Indians.
Unlike Stockton and Rypien, who both maintain strong ties to the Spokane area, Sandberg graduated from North Central nearly 27 years ago and rarely looked back on the Lilac City. He lives in Arizona. The baseball field at North Central is named for him, and the school still has some of his trophies.
Sandberg's father, Derwent, a mortician who died in 1986, was a baseball fan and named him after pitcher Ryne Duran.
His mother, Elizabeth, died in July. An older brother died in 1992, while brother Del is a teacher in Olympia and sister Maryl works for a Seattle television station.
Sandberg grew up on the north side of Spokane, and played baseball, football and basketball at North Central. As a basketball player, he averaged 13.3 points a game his senior season and was among the league leaders in rebounding.
In football, Sandberg led the Indians to an undefeated record and the Greater Spokane League title his senior season. He completed 77-of-142 tosses for 1,180 yards, 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions, and was offered a scholarship to Washington State University.
But baseball was his best sport, and he was a big reason the Indians reached the 1978 state baseball championship game. The Indians finished 25-3 with Sandberg hitting .417 with four home runs. He was spotted by Philadelphia scout Bill Harper, who was impressed by his speed.
The Phillies drafted Sandberg in the 20th round of the 1978 baseball draft and he played minor league baseball in Helena, Mont. Sandberg was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with Larry Bowa for Ivan DeJesus in 1982.
Sandberg's combination of power and consistency made him the best second baseman of his era, but he played on just three winning teams in 15 seasons with the Cubs.
A 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove second baseman for the Cubs, he hit 282 homers, and his .989 fielding percentage is the highest ever at second base. The 1984 NL MVP finished with a .285 lifetime average. He was an All-Star from 1984 through 1993.
Sandberg played in two postseason series, in 1984 and 1989. But he never went to the World Series, something the Cubs haven't done since 1945.