Ron Santo
Position: Third Baseman
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-0, 190lb (183cm, 86kg)
Born: February 25, 1940 in Seattle, WA us
Died: December 2, 2010 in Scottsdale, AZ
Buried: Cremated
High School: Franklin HS (Seattle, WA)
Debut: June 26, 1960 (11,746th in major league history)
vs. PIT 4 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: September 29, 1974
vs. OAK 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2012. (Voted by Veteran’s Committee)
View Ron Santo’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Ronald Edward Santo
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1960
Willie Davis
Ron Santo
Joe Torre
Leo Cardenas
Deron Johnson
Dick McAuliffe
Matty Alou
Phil Regan
Ray Sadecki
All-Time Teammate Team
Coming Soon
Notable Events and Chronology
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Ron Santo was the National League’s premier third baseman for much of the 1960s. A nine-time All-Star, Santo hit more home runs (253) and knocked in more runs (937) during the decade than any other player who manned the hot corner. Also an outstanding fielder, Santo earned five consecutive Gold Gloves, leading all National League third basemen in putouts six straight seasons, while topping all senior circuit third sackers in assists seven straight times. Santo accomplished all he did despite playing his entire career with diabetes a condition that eventually cost him both his legs. Santo’s was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame a year after his death in 2012 by the veterans committee.
Born in Seattle, Washington on February 25, 1940, Ronald Edward Santo attended Seattle’s Franklin High School, where he established himself as a top major league prospect. After signing with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1959, Santo spent less than two full years in the team’s farm system before Cubs management became convinced he was ready to play at the major league level. Making his big league debut on June 26, 1960, the 20-year-old third baseman batted .251 over the season’s final three months, while also hitting nine home runs and driving in 44 runs in 95 games.
Santo quickly emerged as one of baseball’s best third basemen the following year, when he hit 23 home runs, knocked in 83 runs, scored 84 others, and batted .284. He also set a Cubs record by starting 41 double plays at third base. Although Santo experienced difficulties at the plate in his second full season, batting just .227 and scoring only 44 runs despite hitting 17 homers and driving in 83 runs, he led all National League third basemen in assists for the first of seven consecutive times, establishing a new Cubs record for assists by a third sacker in the process, with a total of 332. Santo rebounded at the plate in 1963, hitting 25 homers, knocking in 99 runs, and batting .297, while continuing his stellar play at the hot corner by breaking the modern National League record with a total of 374 assists at third base. Santo’s fine all-around performance earned him the first of four straight selections to the All-Star Team and an eighth-place finish in the league MVP balloting.
Although the exceptional year turned in at the hot corner by National League MVP Ken Boyer of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 somewhat overshadowed Santo’s outstanding season, the Chicago third sacker had perhaps his finest all-around year. Santo scored 94 runs, placed among the league leaders with 30 home runs, 114 runs batted in, 185 hits, a .313 batting average, a .564 slugging percentage, and 334 total bases, and topped the circuit with 13 triples, 86 walks, and a .398 on-base percentage. He also led all league third basemen in both putouts and assists for the third of six consecutive times, earning the first of five straight Gold Gloves and another eighth-place finish in the MVP voting in the process. Santo performed as well as he did despite feeling great sadness over the loss of teammate Ken Hubbs, the outstanding young Cubs second baseman who died in a plane crash just prior to the start of the 1964 campaign.
Santo clearly established himself as the National League’s top third baseman in 1965, a year in which he scored 88 runs, batted .285, and finished among the league leaders with 33 home runs, 101 runs batted in, 88 walks, a .378 on-base percentage, and a .510 slugging percentage. He also played in a league-leading 164 games, appearing in every game on Chicago’s schedule for one of six times.
Santo continued to excel for the Cubs in each of the next two seasons, combining for 61 home runs, 192 runs batted in, and 200 runs scored in 1966 and 1967, while batting over .300 and leading the league in bases on balls both years. He also topped the circuit with a .412 on-base percentage in the first of those campaigns, while simultaneously establishing a new all-time league record for third basemen with 391 assists. Santo broke his own record the following year with 393 assists.
Although the American League’s Brooks Robinson continued to gain widespread acclaim as baseball’s finest defensive third baseman, there were those who considered Santo to be his equal. Cubs leftfielder Billy Williams, who spent more than a decade playing behind Santo in the field, discussed his former teammate’s defensive skills: “”Was Brooks Robinson a better fielder than Ron Santo? I played left field behind Santo in Chicago all those years and I’m telling you that sucker was quick. I saw him make plays that nobody else could have made. He was out there every day, hurt or not, he had marvelous instincts and he could hit.””
Santo’s outstanding performance in 1967 helped lead the Cubs to a third-place finish in the National League, thereby elevating them out of the senior circuit’s second division for the first time in two decades. Santo placed fourth in the league MVP voting as a result.
Despite batting just .246 in 1968, Santo had another productive year, hitting 26 homers, driving in 98 runs, and leading the league in walks for the third consecutive time. He then had a sensational 1969 campaign, batting .289, scoring 97 runs, and placing among the league leaders with 29 home runs, a career-high 123 runs batted in, 96 walks, and a .384 on-base percentage. The Cubs maintained sole possession of first place in the National League East for 156 days, before eventually being overtaken by the miracle New York Mets, who went on to win the world championship. Chicago finished second in the division, 10 games behind New York. The Cubs strong showing earned their team captain a fifth-place finish in the league MVP balloting.
It was during the 1969 season that Santo became known for performing a ritual at the conclusion of every Cubs home victory. After spontaneously running down the third base line, jumping three times, and clicking his heels on each jump following a particularly emotional Chicago win on June 22, Santo continued the practice after each Wrigley Field victory at the behest of team manager Leo Durocher, who felt it helped motivate the team. However, when the Cubs began their September skid, Santo discontinued the heel click routine. He performed his final “”click”” on September 2, the last time the Cubs won a home game while still in first place. Santo never again carried out the ritual since Cub critics decried it as being synonymous with the overconfidence that many felt led to the team’s downfall during the season’s final month.
Santo had one more big year for the Cubs, hitting 26 home runs and driving in 114 runs in 1970, before his production gradually began to decline the following season. The third baseman spent three more years with the Cubs before moving across town to join the White Sox for his final season in 1974. He retired at the end of the year with 342 home runs, 1,331 runs batted in, 1,138 runs scored, and a .277 career batting average. Santo was the second player at his position to hit 300 career home runs, joining Eddie Mathews, and he also ended his career second to Mathews among third basemen in slugging average (.464), and third in runs batted in, total bases (3,779), and walks (1,108). Santo hit more than 20 homers 11 times, surpassing the 30-mark on four separate occasions. He also knocked in more than 100 runs four times, batted over .300 four times, and compiled more than 300 total bases five straight times. In addition to leading the league in walks four times, Santo topped the circuit in on-base percentage twice. Although Mike Schmidt later surpassed him in all three categories, Santo held National League records for most career double plays at third base (389), most assists (4,532), and most total chances (6,777) upon his retirement.
One of the most durable players in the game, Santo missed only 23 of a possible 1,595 starts from 1961 to 1970, taking the field almost every day despite being diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18. Given a life expectancy of 25 years at the time, Santo begged those who knew about his illness not to reveal his condition to others, fearing that doing so might force him into retirement. Since the methods of regulating diabetes during the 1960s and 1970s were not as advanced as they are today, Santo gauged his blood sugar levels based on his moods. On those occasions he believed his blood sugar to be low, he typically snacked on candy bars in the clubhouse.
Santo later said, “”I was always careful not to give myself a shot of insulin in the locker room in front of anybody. I always did it in private.”” He also revealed that the disease drove him on the field, saying, “”It was one reason I played so hard. I kept thinking my career could end any day. I never really wanted out of the lineup. The diabetes thing was hanging over my head.””
Former Cubs teammate Randy Hundley said none of Santo’s teammates realized he had diabetes until one night in St. Louis when he made a bad throw to first base and went down on one knee in pain. They later learned he had the disease for six years. Hundley said, We kidded him about it quite a bit, made his life miserable at times.
Santo revealed his struggle with diabetes to the general public for the first time during Ron Santo Day, held at Wrigley Field on August 28, 1971. The disease later necessitated the amputation of both legs below the knee: the right in 2001, and the left in 2002.
Following his retirement, Santo joined the Cub’s broadcast booth in 1990, working as the color commentator for WGN radio. He subsequently became known around Chicago for his unabashed broadcast enthusiasm, which often caused him to emit groans and cheers during Cub’s games. As excitable as Santo became when a member of the home team made a great play, he was equally vocal in expressing his displeasure over Cub’s miscues.
Santo continued to entertain Cub’s fans with his emotional style of broadcasting through the 2010 season, before dying of complications from bladder cancer on December 2nd, after lapsing into a coma one day earlier. Santo was 70 years old when he passed away.
Upon learning of his broadcast partners passing, Pat Hughes said, He absolutely loved the Cubs. The Cubs have lost their biggest fan.””
Hughes noted that, with all the medical problems Santo had “”he never complained. He wanted to have fun. He wanted to talk baseball. He considered going to games therapeutic. He enjoyed himself in the booth right to the end.””
Meanwhile, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts released a statement saying, My siblings and I first knew Ron Santo as fans, listening to him in the broadcast booth. We knew him for his passion, his loyalty, his great personal courage and his tremendous sense of humor. It was our great honor to get to know him personally in our first year as owners¦. Ronnie will forever be the heart and soul of Cubs fans.”
The quest for Cooperstown –
First eligible for election to the Hall of Fame in 1980, Santo never came close to attaining the 75 percent vote required to gain admittance to Cooperstown during his period of eligibility. The lack of support shown Santo has been attributed largely to the disparity in his offensive numbers while playing at home and on the road. Santo hit 216 of his 342 home runs while playing in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, a notoriously good hitters ballpark. He hit only 126 homers on the road. Santo also batted .296 at home, while posting just a .257 career average on the road.
Another argument that has been raised against Santo’s induction was revealed by Brooks Robinson, a member of the Veterans Committee with whom Santo’s only hope now lies. Speaking of the former Cubs third baseman, Robinson suggested, “I think he should be in the Hall of Fame. There’s an awful lot of little quirks going into making the Hall of Fame. I really think the fact the Cubbies never won is the bigger reason Ron doesn’t get into the Hall of Fame. A lot of voters think that the ‘69 team is good, but we got three guys on that team inducted already. You got Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams and Ernie Banks. They’re not going to put anyone else in they didn’t do anything special (as a team).
Although disappointed at being bypassed, the ever-optimistic and emotional Santo told a cheering Wrigley Field crowd on the day the Cubs retired his jersey number, “”This is my Hall of Fame!””
Meanwhile, former Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg announced during his 2005 Hall of Fame acceptance speech, “”…for what it’s worth, Ron Santo just gained one more vote from the Veterans Committee.”
Finially in 2012, Santo was granted his long awaited induction into Baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
Ron Santo is the greatest third baseman in Chicago Cubs’ history. He hit 342 career home runs and won five Gold Gloves. Playing all but one season with the Cubs, Santo never made it to the post-season. He hit 30 homers and batted .300 four times each, despite playing much of his career in an era where scoring was suppressed. He paced the National League in walks four times. He topped NL third basemen in putouts seven times, assists seven times, and double plays four times.
Best Season: 1964
The wrong third baseman won the MVP Award. Cardinal Ken Boyer took home the hardware as his team won the pennant, but Santo outplayed him in ’64. Santo batted .312, hit 33 doubles, 13 triples (which led the NL), 30 homers, drove in 114, walked 86 times and won the Gold Glove. Not sure how any other third baseman was deemed more valuable.
Stable Cubs
The Cubs of the 1960s and early 1970s are one of the most talented teams who never made the post-season. Ron Santo became the third baseman in 1960, and for the remainder of the decade, the Cubs had a very stable lineup of players. Ernie Banks played two years at short next to Santo and eight years at first; Don Kessinger moved into the shortstop spot in 1965 and stayed for 11 seasons; that same year, Glenn Beckert won the second base job, which he filled through 1973; for four seasons Dick Bertell was the Cubs’ starting catcher, and starting in ’66 Randy Hundley enjoyed an eight-year run behind the plate, through 1973; Billy Williams was starting in the outfield every year from 1961 to 1973.
Banks (1B), Beckert (2B), Kessinger (SS), Santo (3B), Hundley (C) and Williams (LF or RF) were 75% of the team’s lineup from 1966-1969. Five of those players were in the starting lineup in four other seasons (1965, 1970, 1972, 1973). In 1966 the six players played in 910 of 972 possible games at their positions. In 1967 it was 916 of 966, in 1968 it was 949 of 972, and in ’69 it was 917 of 972. Thus, for four seasons, the six played in 95% of the Cubs’ games.
The manager of those Cubs teams was Leo Durocher, who had favored a set lineup when he led the Dodgers and Giants in the 1940s and 1950s. Durocher had the advantage of having very durable players in Chicago. Banks played at least 150 games 12 times in his career. Santo had a 390-consecutive games played streak at one time and appeared in at least 160 games seven times. Kessinger played at least 150 games eight times, and missed just 43 games from 1968 to 1975. Williams set the NL record for most consecutive games played (1,117).
Santo was a volatile competitor, and more than once in his career he had run-ins with teammates, opponents, media and managers. Yet, in 1969 he started a post-game ritual that was deemed “hokey” by many. He would click his heels together after each Cubs’ win. The Cubs made a run for the division title, but fell short and Santo stopped clicking his heels. Santo was wildly popular in Chicago, and still remains so, having become a broadcaster after his playing career. But there were times in his career when he was booed at Wrigley Field. One was in the heat of the division race in 1969, after he tore into Cubs’ outfielder Don Young for making two costly misplays. Even though he apologized the next day, Cubs’ fans booed Santo during his next home game.
Awards and Honors
1964 NL Gold Glove
1965 NL Gold Glove
1966 NL Gold Glove
1967 NL Gold Glove
1968 NL Gold Glove
Feats
In 1967, Santo set a major league record with 393 assists at third base… On May 31, 1966, Santo set an NL record by playing in his 364th straight game at third base. The streak eventually reached 390.
Milestones
Collected his 2,000th career hit on August 26, 1972, at Wrigley Field off the Giants’ Ron Bryant. The base hit also drove in the 1,200th run of his career.
Notes
When teammate Ken Holtzman hurled a no-hitter on August 19, 1969, Santo blasted the game-winning three-run homer off Phil Niekro… On July 6, 1970, Santo had a monster day. In a doubleheader, he won game one with a two-run blast, while in the nitecap he drove in eight runs on two more taters… On September 3, 1963, Santo tied an NL record with three errors in one inning against the Giants in a 16-3 loss.
Hitting Streaks
28 games (1966)
Transactions
Santo was the first player to invoke his privilege under the “Ten and Five” rule, which states that a team cannot trade a player who has been in the league at least 10 years and been with that club for at least five, without his permission. In December, 1973, the Cubs wanted to trade Santo to the Angels for two young pitchers, but Santo refused. Less than a week later, the Cubs dealt Santo to the White Sox for Steve Stone and a few others. Santo agrees to the deal.
All-Star Selections
1963 NL
1964 NL
1965 NL
1966 NL
1968 NL
1969 NL
1971 NL
1972 NL
1973 NL
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