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1.0 Baseball career

1.1 First with ear flaps

1.2 1969

2.0 Struggle with diabetes

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Ron Santo Wiki Information

Ronald Edward Santo (born February 25 1940 in Seattle, Washington) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1960 to 1974, all but the last year with the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time National League (NL) All-Star, he led the league in walks four times, in on base percentage twice and in triples once. He batted .300 and hit 30 home runs four times each, and is the only third baseman in major league history to post eight consecutive seasons with 90 runs batted in (RBI) (1963-1970). He was the second player at his position to hit 300 career home runs, joining Eddie Mathews, and also ended his career ranking second to Mathews among third basemen in slugging average (.464) and third in runs batted in (1,331), total bases (3,779) and walks (1,108).

The winner of five consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence (1964-1968), he set or tied NL records by leading the league's third basemen 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 by Mike Schmidt between 1986 and 1988; his NL total of 2,102 games at third base fell 52 short of Mathews' league record, and he then ranked sixth in NL history in putouts (1,930) and ninth in fielding percentage (.954). Santo enjoyed his success despite suffering from diabetes, a condition which he carefully concealed for 80% of his career; it eventually necessitated the amputation of both of his legs. Since 1990 he has been a member of the Cubs broadcasting team.

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Baseball career

Santo made his debut with the Cubs 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 NL in assists for the first time with 332, setting the team record for assists as 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, and 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, which remained the NL record until Schmidt posted 404 in 1974; Santo's assist totals from 1963 through 1968 were the six highest by an NL third baseman between 1905 and 1973.

Santo also led the NL in putouts every year from 1962 through 1967 and again in 1969, tying the NL record shared by Pie Traynor and Willie Jones in leading the league seven times; Tim Wallach later tied the mark as well. Santo led the league in double plays six times (1961, '64, '66–'68, '71), tying the major league record held by Heinie Groh; Schmidt also later tied this record. Santo led the NL in total chances every season from 1961 through 1968. He appeared at third base in every Cubs game from April 19, 1964 through May 31, 1966, establishing a league record with 364 consecutive games at the position; his 164 games at third base in 1965 remain the major league record.

Santo broke Eddie Mathews' NL record of 369 career double plays at third base in 1972, and in 1973 he broke Mathews' league records of 4,284 assists and 6,606 total chances. Schmidt passed Santo's record for double plays in 1986, his record for assists in 1987, and his mark for total chances in 1988.

Santo became the first player to invoke the ten-and-five rule under the collective bargaining agreement signed after the 1972 strike (the rule allows players with ten years' service, the last five with the same team, to decline any trade). 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. Santo didn't want to play on the West Coast and vetoed the deal.

The Cubs still wanted to deal Santo, and since his preference was to stay in Chicago, they worked out a deal with the White Sox, acquiring catcher Steve Swisher, and three young pitchers: Jim Kremmel, Ken Frailing, and one of Santo's future co-broadcasters, Steve Stone.

Santo's stay on the South Side was miserable, and for him, mercifully brief. The White Sox already had a third baseman, Bill Melton, so Santo was relegated mostly to DH duty, which he hated. He wanted to play in the field, but Sox manager Chuck Tanner wouldn't bench Melton (who, to be fair, had had a couple of 30-HR seasons for them), so he tried Santo at second base, where, with no experience, he only embarrassed himself. Worn down by his disease, away from his familiar home at Wrigley Field, and finishing 1974 with a .221 batting average and only 5 home runs, Santo retired from baseball at the age of 34.

During his 14-season run with the Cubs, Santo hit 337 home runs, then the eighth most by a National League right-handed hitter; his 1,071 career walks with the Cubs remain the team record for a right-handed hitter. He was the first third baseman to hit 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves, a feat since matched only by Schmidt.

First with ear flaps

In 1966, in the midst of trying to break the Cubs' modern consecutive-game hitting streak record of 27 games (set by Hack Wilson in 1929), Santo was sidelined for nearly two weeks following a pitch thrown by the Mets' Jack Fisher (beaning) that fractured his cheekbone and ended his consecutive playing streak. When he returned (and broke the hitting record with a 28-game streak) he was wearing an improvised ear flap on his batting helmet in order to protect the injury; ear flaps have since become standard equipment on batting helmets.

1969

In 1969, Santo and the Cubs were in first place in the National League East for 156 days, before going 9-17 in their final 25 games, while the New York "Miracle" Mets went 37-11 in their final 48 games. 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. Santo finished the season with a .289 batting average, 29 home runs and a career-high 123 RBIs, and finished fifth in the NL Most Valuable Player voting.

Heel click

On June 22, 1969, at the end of a game between the Cubs and the Montreal Expos, Santo created a trademark that will stand in Cubs lore forever. Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cubs were down 6-3. With one out, second baseman Paul Popovich hit a single, and moved up to second base after another single by left fielder Billy Williams. Although Santo grounded out for the second out, Popovich and Williams each moved up a base. Then another Cub legend, first baseman Ernie Banks, singled to bring home Williams and Popovich and bring the Cubs within a run. Banks was pulled out for pinch-runner Rick Bladt. That set it up for Cubs right fielder Jim Hickman, who hit a 2-run walk-off home run to win the game 7-6. When Hickman reached home plate, Santo was so excited that after congratulating him by bear hugging and pounding him on his head, Santo ran down the third base line and jumped three times, clicking his heels on each jump. 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. However when the Cubs began their September skid, Santo discontinued the heel click routine. His final "click" was performed on September 2nd, the last Cub home victory while still in first place. During and after the season's collapse, Santo never again performed the heel click, as Cub critics decried the routine as being synonymous with the overconfidence that many feel destroyed the Cubs 1969, "No one can stop us" season.

Struggle with diabetes

In the early years of his playing career, he carefully concealed the fact that he had type 1 diabetes. He feared that if this information were to become known, he would be forced into retirement.

Because the methods of regulating diabetes in the 1970s were not as advanced as they are today, Santo gauged his blood sugar levels based on his moods. ^[1] If he felt his blood sugar was low, he would snack on a candy bar in the clubhouse.

As part of the publicity surrounding "Ron Santo Day" at Wrigley Field on August 28, 1971, he revealed his struggle with diabetes. He was diagnosed with this disease at the age of 18, and was given a life expectancy of 25 years. Santo has had both his legs amputated below the knee as a result of his diabetes: the right in 2001 and the left in 2002.

Santo shares a bond in this respect with 2008 Cub rookie Sam Fuld, who also suffers from type 1 diabetes. ^[2]

Charities

Santo has been endorsing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Chicago since 1974, and has raised over $50 million for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). In 2002, Santo was named the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's "Person of the Year". Santo also inspired Bill Holden to walk 2,100 miles from Arizona to Chicago, to raise $250,000 for diabetes research.

This Old Cub

In 2004, Santo and his battle against diabetes was the subject of a documentary, This Old Cub . The film was written, co-produced and directed by Santo's son Jeff.

Broadcast career

Santo joined the Cubs' broadcast booth in 1990 as the WGN radio color commentator. ^[3] He works with play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes, and these radio broadcasts are also known as the Pat and Ron Show . He has also worked with Harry Caray, Thom Brennaman, Steve Stone and Bob Brenly. Santo also briefly worked with Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers commentator Wayne Larrivee. He also does commercials for Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating, which he endorses.

In Chicago, Santo is known for his unabashed broadcast enthusiasm, including groans and cheers during the game. As excitable as Santo is when a great play for the Cubs occurs, he is equally as vocal in his displeasure.

Hall of Fame?

When Santo first became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, he was named on less than 4% of all ballots cast, resulting in his removal from the ballot in subsequent years; he was one of several players re-added to the ballot in 1985 following widespread complaints about overlooked candidates, with the remainder of their 15 years of eligibility restored even if this extended beyond the usual limit of 20 years after their last season. After receiving 13% of the vote in the 1985 election, his vote totals increased in 10 of the next 13 years until he received 43% of the vote in his final year on the 1998 ballot, finishing third in the voting behind electee Don Sutton and 2000 inductee Tony Perez. Following revamped voting procedures for the Veterans Committee, which elects players retired for over 20 years, Santo finished third in 2003, tied for first in 2005, and again finished first in voting for the 2007 and 2009 inductions, but fell short of the required number of votes each year. Santo's next opportunity for admission will come in voting prior to the 2011 inductions.

Although Santo has become a widely supported candidate for selection, his initial poor showing in balloting has been attributed to various factors, including a longtime tendency of Hall voters to overlook third basemen; at the time Santo retired, only 3 of the over 120 players elected were third basemen. One knock against Santo’s Hall of Fame candidacy that has been brought up is that his batting statistics were helped significantly by Wrigley Field, and would not have been outstanding if he hadn't played in a hitter's park. He hit 216 of his 342 home runs at home, and only 126 on the road. His career average at home was .296, versus .257 on the road (reference: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=santoro01&year=Career&t=b). Despite his numbers away from the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field, Santo was a great all-around player and in 1964, was described as "arguably the best active player in baseball". Others have also commented that two Cubs who were in their prime during Santo’s prime years have already been honored by the Hall of Fame (Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams), yet the team never won a pennant.

Santo also fell far short of such traditional standards of Hall election as 3,000 hits and 500 home runs; however, by the time his career ended, only two third basemen (Brooks Robinson and Lave Cross) had even collected 2,500 hits, and only one (Eddie Mathews) had reached the 400-home run plateau. Bill James, a notable statistical guru who has ranked Santo among the 100 greatest players of all time, believes his election to the Hall of Fame is long overdue.

On September 28, 2003, Santo's jersey #10 was retired by the Cubs organization, making him the third player so honored behind his teammates Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26). Second baseman Ryne Sandberg (#23) later had his number retired in 2005. Other prominent Cubs had worn #10 after Santo's retirement, notably Dave Kingman and Leon Durham; the most recent wearer had been interim manager Bruce Kimm, just the previous year.

Although disappointed at being bypassed, on the day his number was retired, the ever-optimistic and emotional "old Cub" told the cheering Wrigley Field crowd, "This is my Hall of Fame!"

During Sandberg's Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2005, he echoed his support for Santo's selection, saying, "...for what it’s worth, Ron Santo just gained one more vote from the Veterans Committee."

In April 2004, Santo was inducted into the inaugural class of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (Washington's high school athletics league) Hall of Fame as a graduate of Seattle's Franklin High School. ^[4]

On April 19, 2007, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted HB 109 (Cross), urging the Veterans Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame to elect Ron Santo to the Baseball Hall of Fame. ^[5]