Ron Santo

Ronald Edward Santo (February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974. In 1990, Santo became a member of the Cubs broadcasting team providing commentary for Cubs games on WGN radio and remained at that position until his death in 2010. In 1999, he was selected to the Cubs All-Century Team. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Santo was an All-Star for nine seasons during his 15-year career. He led the National League (NL) in triples one time, in walks four times, and in on-base percentage two times. He batted .300 or more and hit 30 or more home runs four times each, and is the only third baseman in MLB history to post eight consecutive seasons with over 90 runs batted in (RBI) (1963–70).

He also was a Gold Glove Award winner for five consecutive seasons. He led the NL in total chances eight times, in games, putouts and assists seven times each, and in double plays six times. From 1966 to 1974, he held the NL record for assists in a single season. He also set NL records for career assists (4,532), total chances (6,777) and double plays (389) at third base, all of which were eventually broken between 1986 and 1988 by Mike Schmidt. His NL total of 2,102 games at third base is 52 short of Eddie Mathews' league record, and he ranks sixth in putouts (1,930) and ninth in fielding percentage (.954).

Santo enjoyed his success despite battling diabetes since he was a teenager, a condition which was concealed from the public until 1971; it eventually necessitated the amputation of the lower half of both his legs.[2] Since 1979, Santo endorsed the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Chicago. He helped raise over $65 million for the foundation. In 2002, he was named the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's "Person of the Year."

Santo was raised in southeast Seattle, attending Franklin High School, and played newly organized youth baseball in the Babe Ruth League. He grew up near Sicks Stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League's Seattle Rainiers, and had summer jobs there as a batboy, groundskeeper and clubhouse attendant, while playing three sports in high school. At age 14 he made the Seattle all-star team that advanced to the 1954 Babe Ruth World Series. In a game at Washington DC Stadium, Santo was inserted at first base, by Coach Dave Tacher, to replace a 15-year-old player who broke his thumb. In that game Santo hit a grand slam over the 354 foot mark in left center field and the Washington All Stars defeated Tennessee.

Santo was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs in 1959, and made his debut on June 26, 1960. In 1961 he set a Cubs record with 41 double plays at third base, breaking the previous mark of 33 set by Bernie Friberg in 1923. In 1962 he led the National League in assists for the first time with 332, setting the team record for assists at third base, breaking the mark of 323 set by Randy Jackson in 1951. Santo continued to lead the NL in assists every year through 1968, breaking Ned Williamson's major league record of leading the league six times; Brooks Robinson went on to lead the American League eight times. Mike Schmidt eventually tied Santo's NL mark of seven. In 1963 Santo broke the modern NL record with 374 assists at third base, passing Tommy Leach's 1904 mark of 371. In 1966, he set the all-time league record with 391, the previous record being Billy Shindle's 382 in 1892; his total was 99 higher than that of league runner-up Ken Boyer. Santo broke his own record in 1967 with 393 assists,[10] which remained the NL record until Schmidt posted 404 in 1974. He also finished fourth in the 1967 NL Most Valuable Player Award voting results.[11] Santo's assist totals from 1963 through 1968 were the six highest by an NL third baseman between 1905 and 1973. He also led the NL in putouts every year from 1962 through 1967 and again in 1969, tying the league record shared by Pie Traynor and Willie Jones in leading the league seven times; Tim Wallach later tied the mark as well.

Santo was deeply saddened by the loss of teammate Ken Hubbs, the Cubs second baseman, killed in a plane crash just prior to the 1964 season. Santo was interviewed by Tom Harmon, narrator of the film A Glimpse of Greatness–The Story of Ken Hubbs, in which Santo paid the highest respects to the young Hubbs.[citation needed]

In 1969, Santo and the Cubs were in first place in the National League East for 180 days, before going 8–17 in their final 25 games, while the New York "Miracle" Mets went 37–11 in their final 48 games.[13] During that season, the Cubs sent their entire starting infield, including Santo, to the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.; he and Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger started for the NL team.[14] Santo finished the season with a .289 batting average, 29 home runs and a career-high 123 runs batted in (RBI), and finished fifth in the NL's MVP voting.

Santo in 1973

The next day, Santo walked into manager Leo Durocher's office; Durocher asked him to keep clicking his heels whenever the Cubs won at Wrigley Field to motivate the team. Santo continued this after every home win. The stunt antagonized opponents and served to make the team a target for payback in the final weeks of the season. When the Cubs began their September swoon, which took place shortly after Santo called out rookie teammate Don Young in public after a loss against the Mets in New York, he discontinued the heel click routine suddenly. His final "click" was performed on September 2, the last Cub home victory while still in first place. During and after the epic collapse, Santo never again performed the heel click, as critics decried the routine for its arrogance and overconfidence, which many believe was at the root of the late fade. [citation needed] On the day Santo was enshrined in the Hall of Fame, the Cubs' starting lineup all did the "kick" at the start of the game in tribute.

Trade veto

Santo became the first player to invoke the ten-and-five rule under the collective bargaining agreement that was signed to end the 1972 Major League Baseball strike. The rule allowed players with ten years' service, the last five with the same team, to decline any trade.[18] The Cubs had agreed upon a deal to send Santo to the California Angels; the ballclub would have received in return two young pitchers: Andy Hassler, who went on to have a middling career as a reliever/spot starter, and Bruce Heinbechner, a very highly regarded left-handed pitching prospect, who died before the beginning of the 1974 season.[19] Santo's desire to stay in Chicago was his motivation to veto the deal on December 8, 1973.

Death

Santo died at 12:40 am on December 3, 2010, at the age of 70 in a hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, due to complications from bladder cancer and diabetes. (Many media outlets reported the date as "the night of the 2nd" or "overnight.") Santo had lapsed into a coma on December 1.[27][28][29] [30] A funeral mass was celebrated at Holy Name Cathedral on December 10, where Santo's casket was carried in by former teammates Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins, Randy Hundley, Glenn Beckert, and Billy Williams, draped with the No. 10 flag that flew over Wrigley the day his number was retired. He was eulogized by his longtime broadcast partner Pat Hughes, along with Cubs owner Tom Ricketts and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. Following the service, the procession paused outside Tribune Tower, home of WGN Radio, before heading north to circle Wrigley Field, starting at third base. Santo was later cremated and his ashes scattered on the field at the Friendly Confines.

On August 10, 2011, Santo was memorialized and "immortalized" at Wrigley Field with the presentation of a statue in his likeness. The statue is a portrayal of a young Santo playing defense at third base, leaning to his right while throwing a ball.

Hall of Fame election

On December 5, 2011, the 16-member Golden Era Committee that began voting on ten candidates selected by the BBWAA screening committee,[52] was composed of Hank Aaron, Pat Gillick, Al Kaline, Ralph Kiner, Tommy Lasorda, Juan Marichal, Brooks Robinson, Billy Williams, Paul Beeston, Bill DeWitt, Roland Hemond, Gene Michael, Al Rosen, Dick Kaegel, Jack O'Connell, and Dave Van Dyck. They were charged with determining whether Santo would be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2012. Williams, Santo's long-time teammate and friend, had made a fresh case for Santo, emphasizing his personal struggle with diabetes during his career, and his post-retirement charitable work to try to find a cure. Santo received 15 of the 16 possible votes and was the only one of the ten Golden Era Ballot candidates to be elected to the Hall of Fame by the committee's first vote.[50][23][53] Santo's widow Vicki accepted the plaque on Induction Day, and spoke about his love of the Cubs and his devotion to people with diabetes.[54]