“I know getting inducted into the Hall of Fame has to be something, but that flag is going to be hanging there after everybody is gone”
The world lost a fantastic man. A lot of times that word gets thrown around after someone leaves this world. However Ron Santo was not just fantastic because he was a wonderful athlete. He was not just fantastic because he was a beloved broadcaster. He was not just fantastic because he was a family man. Above all things Ron Santo was a humanitarian. He wanted the world to live each day as happy as he lived each day. And for all those reasons, the world is a little bit worse of a place than it was a couple of days ago.
As a baseball player there is no denying that Ron Santo was one of the greatest third basemen to ever play the game. While hall of fame voters may try to deny that fact, they are still sore about some of the ways that he acted back in his playing days. Santo made 9 all star teams and won 5 gold glove awards. For 11 straight seasons from 1961 to 1971, he played 154 or more games, and he played more than 160 games in seven of them. He did all this while not only playing with diabetes, but also having to hide the fact that he had it. One of the most compelling arguments for Santo to hall of fame was the position that he played. Third base is the least represented position in the hall. Putting that on a ratio with the other positions, if you can prove that Santo was one of the top 10 third basemen of al time, that should put him as a lock for the hall. His Home runs and all star game appearances are 8th all time. His gold gloves put him seventh. Surely for all these reason Santo should be a lock for the hall, but he is not in yet
Santo was a very unique brand of broadcaster. Baseball stat geeks and number crunchers hated the guy. He never delivered hard hitting analysis or interesting statistics. What he did do, was provide a different experience for listening to a baseball game. When I listened to a Cubs game on the radio, I felt like I was listening with my friend. He rejoiced when I rejoiced and screamed in agony when I screamed in agony. Call him a homer if you want but for Cubs fans, he was our homer. He wanted more then anything to see the Cubs achieve what they haven’t achieved for over a century now. Listening to Cubs games this summer is going to feel like an empty experience, because now we can not listen with our dear old friend
Perhaps Santo’s greatest achievement was as a humanitarian. Through his various organizations he has raised over 250 million dollars for diabetes research and treatment. He made it his mission to visit sick children all over and let them know that even if you are unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with the awful disease, life is not over.
What Ron Santo was to Cubs fans was the elder statesmen of our family. He went through serious adversity and tribulations but you would never hear about it from him. Despite everything he went through he still felt blessed to live everyday of his life. He truly loved being a Cub and everything it entailed. Of course he wanted to be nominated to the hall of fame but after a while he was ok with being left out of the hall. The quote that I began this article with was from the day that the Cubs retired his number. Most people would think that him saying that having his flag wave at Wrigley was a bigger achievement to him than making the hall was just sour grapes, but with Santo it seemed to ring true. If he taught us anything it was that a life of adversity can still be a good life if you face it with a positive attitude. Ron Santo will be missed by Cubs fans everywhere. I know when I tube my radio dial to AM 720 this summer, it just will not be the same. I hope your having fun clicking your heels in heaven Ron, Ill be down here drinking a cold Old Style in your honor.
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