Farewell Ron Santo

by Rob Castellano on Dec 3, 2010 10:45 AM EST

For those who hadn't heard, former player, current broadcaster and all-around Cubs lifer Ron Santo passed away last night. He was only 70 but he has always had numerous health problems and it was complications from bladder cancer that finally got him.

I'm not a Cubs fan by any means but you didn't have to be to appreciate him and If you listened to a lot of Cubs games, you understand why this is a tough loss. He was just a good, likeable person, simple as that. I actually dislike the Cubs but listening to Santo would often have me rooting for them. He was the only outright homer that actually made it work; not just bearable but enjoyable because it was crystal clear with every call that he lived and breathed Cubbies baseball. Seriously, every win sounded like game 7, every loss sounded like he was ready to jump off the Sears Tower (listen for yourself here).

With his warm personality and ultra-positive demeanor, Santo was nothing short of an inspiration. I'll certainly miss his stories about the National League of yesteryear, which wig he decided to wear that day & the origin of the scrambled egg stain on his pants. Baseball is worse off for having lost him and my thoughts go out to Cubs fans, the city of Chicago and the Santo family.

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i'll second that

he was a total homer, and it worked. it absolutely worked.

i have a ton of friends in new york who are chicago transplants, and as a result i listened to a ton of cubs games on the radio to keep up on the team. anytime marmol let a runner on base last year, he sounded like he was going to have a heart attack. the sigh of relief he’d expel after a save always made me smile. baseball lost one of the good ones last night. my thoughts are with him and his family today.

by bbilko on Dec 3, 2010 11:08 AM EST reply actions

Wow, big loss for baseball in general.

He was fun to listen to.

by fxcarden on Dec 3, 2010 11:32 AM EST reply actions

He was a great guy

who loved life and baseball. I will never forget that summer of 1969. It was magical. It was us and the Cubs that summer. And they had such a great team. They were the Baltimore Orioles of the NL that year. Great starting pitching (Kenny Holtzman, Ferguson Jenkins and Bill Hands) and a great line-up up and down (Kessinger, Becket, Banks, Santo, Hundley, Williams and Hickman). I never hated the Cubs because they were that good and they had some likable players (for me, particularly, Banks, Jenkins and Santo, who would do that little heel click before games). But I did fear them …. and in the end, I had pity for them and their fans (yes, even at the age of 11, lol). I always felt a connection with the Cubs after that season.

Then, of course, there was the black cat incident at Shea when the Cubs were in town. Someone had let a black cat loose at Shea during the game. The cat circled on-deck batter Ron Santo, then went inside the Cubs dugout and was never seen again

Ron Santo was a fighter, a great baseball player and a good guy. RIP.

"Never throw a slider to The Glider."

- Ed Charles, No. 5

"Who has more fun than people?"

- Ralph Kiner

by The Glider on Dec 3, 2010 12:08 PM EST reply actions

IIRC

Hickman’s big year in Chicago was 1970, not 69.

What's the score, boys?
What did Bugs Bunny do?
What's with the Carrot League baseball today?

by StorkFan on Dec 6, 2010 8:32 AM EST up reply actions

Now he can click his heels in heaven

Hopefully, his death doesn’t influence his HoF candidacy, in making the Veterans Committee sympathetic. Not to sound rude, or whatever, but he doesn’t belong in there, and…

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 3, 2010 12:29 PM EST reply actions

Santo already said he didn't want in after his death

But to your point about his HOF candidacy, very arguable he belongs. Here’s a list of the other third basemen elected. And Santo did it while playing with diabetes.

Ron Santo – 14 seasons – .277 AVG, 342 HR, 1,331 RBI, 9 time All-Star, 5 time Gold Glove
Eddie Matthews – 16 seasons – .271 AVG, 512 HR, 1,453 RBI, 12 time All-Star, 0 Gold Gloves
Brooks Robinson – 22 seasons, .267 AVG, 268 HR, 1,357 RBI, 18 time All-Star, 16 Gold Gloves
Wade Boggs – 17 seasons, .328 AVG, 118 HR, 1,014 RBI, 12 time All-Star, 2 Gold Gloves
Mike Schmidt – 17 seasons, .267 AVG, 548 HR, 1,595 RBI, 12 time All-Star, 10 Gold Gloves
George Kell – 14 seasons, .306 AVG, 78 HR, 870 RBI, 10 time All-Star, 0 Gold Gloves

"Never throw a slider to The Glider."

- Ed Charles, No. 5

"Who has more fun than people?"

- Ralph Kiner

by The Glider on Dec 3, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions

Gotta be a few more HOF third basemen than that...

George Brett, Pie Traynor, Freddie Lindstrom. And kinda sorta Paul Molitor. Plus a few Negro Leaguers.

I just don’t see Santo as belonging in the Hall, unless he gets consideration as a broadcaster as well. Anyway, RIP Ron.

"It’s not just about money, it’s how you spend it."
-- Sandy Alderson

by Ownbey4Mex on Dec 3, 2010 1:12 PM EST up reply actions

Aren't one of the rules of HoF voting is that you're supposed to look at each player in a vaccuum?

Some players in the HoF definitley belong in there. Others are borderline. A select few, you wonder how the hell they made it. If you compared everyone to those last two categories (especially that last one) in terms of HoF eligibility, there’s a lot of undeserving players getting in. Does a career .277 hitter who isn’t above the “hallowed” 500 HR plateau deserve HoF enshrinement? Personally, I don’t think so, even factoring in that he was a pretty good defender. He’s on the borderline list, and I prefer the being more conservative line of reasoning than letting those borderline guys in.

Opinions vary, of course.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 3, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions

I think he belongs in there

The counting stats don’t rate, but he walked a ton and played a premium position. 3B was even more premium in his day. The .277 BA looks better when you look at his .362 OBP.

He had 8 overall seasons of 6+ WAR, including 4 of 8.5+ WAR (in a row!) and 10 years in a row of 4+ WAR. 3B has the fewest representatives in the Hall — if voters were more saber savvy back then he’d have prob been inducted. Just a small step below Jeff Bagwell’s career arc, and Bagwell is a no-brainer Hall of Famer.

by James Kannengieser on Dec 3, 2010 1:30 PM EST up reply actions

FanGraphs WAR, that is

B-Ref WAR isn’t as high on his offense, particularly re: double plays.

by James Kannengieser on Dec 3, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

Santo was also notable

for disclosing his diabetes while still an active player. At the time, it was rare for a player to discuss something like that. IIRC they had a Ron Santo Day and the proceeds went to diabetes research,

What's the score, boys?
What did Bugs Bunny do?
What's with the Carrot League baseball today?

by StorkFan on Dec 6, 2010 8:35 AM EST reply actions