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Sandberg accused the coach of bullying and intimidation. After one call, he said, the coach raised his arms and yelled.

“I see this coach go out there and, with his antics, reverse two calls that were made and take a diving catch away from the outfielder from the team that I was watching,” he said.

Sandberg said many people attending knew who he was and that he could not act as if the coach’s conduct was acceptable.

“I didn’t like what I was seeing here for youth baseball. It’s not good for the kids. It’s totally improper,” Sandberg said.

So he said he walked out onto the field, identified himself and told the coach that what he was doing was not right.

The coach said he knew who Sandberg was. As Sandberg walked away, one of the Sparks fathers told him to get off the field because he was a has-been.

The 64-year-old Sandberg said he asked some of the parents how they put up with the coach.

Sandberg said the parents told him, “At this point, we realize we keep our mouths shut. We have to. We paid for it. We signed up for it. We’re kind of tight-lipped.”

Sandberg said that later, the coach, with parents watching, took his hat off and said, “Hey, Ryno, at least I have more hair than you.”

Sandberg said he responded, “Yeah, you do. Congratulations.”

“That was his response to somebody who is going through what I’m going through,” he told Kaplan.

This year, Sandberg has undergone chemotherapy for metastatic prostate cancer

In the podcast, Sandberg said he heard reports that the Sparks team steals signs, which is when teams decode opposing teams’ signals. To get the information from the decoding, he said, some Sparks players wear earpieces.

“The kids are hitting because they know what’s coming,” Sandberg said.

He said he was “forced” to walk out on the field after he found out what was happening.

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“I can’t sit there and condone something like that,” Sandberg said. “It was all about sticking up for the players on both teams, the parents on both teams.”

A few days later, the Sparks organization sent a mass email to players’ families in response to Sandberg’s statements.

The organization said the allegations that the coach argued with umpires, had players wear earpieces and stole signs were false.

Sparks said it conducted a thorough investigation and found that the team’s coaches did not act out of line.

“(T)his was an unfortunate incident, but this is what happens when parents (or grandparents) insert themselves where they do not belong,” the group said. “While Ryne Sandberg deserves every accolade from his playing days, including his Hall of Fame induction and the statue about to be unveiled, it does not give him license to break the baseball code that everyone who has been around the game agrees upon. Fans do not come on to a baseball field to confront umpires and coaches, period!”

At the same time, the organization apologized for the hair comment, saying the coach did not know about Sandberg’s cancer. The coach was referring to billboards in which Sandberg appeared as a spokesman for Restore Hair, the group said.

“The coach shared with us that his mother had cancer and experienced the horrible effects of the treatment, and ultimately passed away,” the organization said. “He would never have made the comment had he known of Sandberg’s condition. He deeply regrets making the comment.”

This does not excuse the coach’s statement, which had been handled internally, according to the statement.

The organization said it was frustrating that it is subject to public scrutiny based on misrepresentations. It said its mission would be to continue to “change outcomes” for kids through sports.

“We are confident that anyone who has been part of our organization knows what we stand for and believe in,” the group said.

Patch left messages for comment Wednesday and Thursday with Dan Brewer, Sparks’ director of baseball operations.

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