Former All-Star pitcher Sanderson dies at 62

CHICAGO -- Scott Sanderson, the right-hander who helped the Chicago Cubs make two playoff appearances and was a member of four postseason teams during a 19-year career, died Thursday. He was 62.

An official with Conway Farms Golf Club in Lake Forest, where Sanderson was a member, told The Associated Press on Thursday the family confirmed the death to the club. The cause of death wasn't provided.

The Cubs held a moment of silence in honor of Sanderson before Thursday night's game.

"Scotty was such a good guy," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who spent three seasons with Sanderson when Maddon was a coach for the Angels. "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."

A Chicago-area product, Sanderson was 163-143 with a 3.84 earned-run average for the Montreal Expos (1978-83), the Cubs (1984-89), Oakland A's (1990), New York Yankees (1991-92), Los Angeles Angels (1993, 1995-96), San Francisco Giants (1993) and Chicago White Sox (1994). He made the playoffs with Montreal (1981), the Cubs (1984, 1989) and Athletics (1990) and was an All-Star with the Yankees (1991).

Sanderson was later an agent.

"What today's players owe to Scott is both incalculable and largely unknown to them," former players' association chief operating officer Gene Orza said. "It was Scott, more than any other player, whose message to his contemporaries both captured what was at stake in the great strike of 1994 and alerted them to their responsibility: 'Who among us wants to leave to the players who come after him less than what he received from the players who have come before him?' Those of us who worked closely with Scott will never forget him. The players he leaves behind never can."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.