Ron Santo (Baseball Player) – Overview, Biography

Name:Ron Santo
Occupation: Baseball Player
Gender:Male
Birth Day: February 25,
1940
Death Date:Dec 3, 2010 (age 70)
Age: Aged 70
Birth Place: Seattle,
United States
Zodiac Sign:Pisces

Ron Santo

Ron Santo was born on February 25, 1940 in Seattle, United States (70 years old). Ron Santo is a Baseball Player, zodiac sign: Pisces. Nationality: United States. Approx. Net Worth: Undisclosed. @ plays for the team .

Trivia

He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 2012.

Net Worth 2020

Undisclosed
Find out more about Ron Santo net worth here.

Does Ron Santo Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, Ron Santo died on Dec 3, 2010 (age 70).

Physique

HeightWeightHair ColourEye ColourBlood TypeTattoo(s)
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Before Fame

He signed with the Cubs in 1959, and played most of his career as a Cub, until he was traded to the White Sox towards the end of his career.

Biography

Biography Timeline

1959

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, 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. 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.

1965

Santo led the league in double plays six times (1961, 1964, 1966–68, 1971), tying the major league record held by Heinie Groh; Mike Schmidt also later tied this record. He led the National League 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.

1966

Santo became the first player in major league history to wear a batting helmet with protective ear flaps, when 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. The beaning 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 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. 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 runs batted in (RBI), and finished fifth in the NL’s MVP voting.

During the 1969 season, Santo became known for performing a heel click after a game on June 22, 1969 against the Montreal Expos. Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Expos were leading 6–3. With one out, Paul Popovich hit a single and moved up to second base after another single by Billy Williams. Although Santo grounded out for the second out, Popovich and Williams each moved up a base. Then future Hall of Famer Ernie Banks singled to bring home Williams and Popovich and bring the Cubs within a run. Rick Bladt substituted as a pinch runner for Banks. That set it up for Jim Hickman, who hit a two-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.

1971

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 had both his legs amputated below the knee as a result of his diabetes: the right in 2001 and the left in 2002.

1972

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. During his 14-season run with the Cubs, Santo hit 337 home runs, then the eighth most by a NL 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 and Scott Rolen.

1973

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. 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. Santo’s desire to stay in Chicago was his motivation to veto the deal on December 8, 1973.

He then asked Cubs management to try for a deal with the crosstown White Sox which was made official on December 11, 1973, with the North Siders acquiring Steve Swisher, Steve Stone and Ken Frailing. Jim Kremmel was also sent to the Cubs to complete the transaction one week later on December 18. The White Sox already had a third baseman, Bill Melton, so Santo was relegated mostly to designated hitter duty, which he hated. He wanted to play in the field, but White Sox manager Chuck Tanner would not bench Melton and unsuccessfully tried Santo at second base. Finishing 1974 with a .221 batting average and 5 home runs, Santo retired from baseball at the age of 34.

1980

When Santo first became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, he was named on less than four percent of all ballots cast by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), 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 percent of the vote in the 1985 election, his vote totals increased in 10 of the next 13 years until he received 43 percent of the vote in his final year on the 1998 ballot, finishing third in the voting behind electee Don Sutton and 2000 inductee Tony Pérez.

1982

Santo married Vicki in 1982 and they lived in Bannockburn, Illinois.

1990

As the “single biggest Cubs fan of all time”, Santo joined the Cubs’ broadcast booth in 1990 as the WGN radio color commentator. He worked with play-by-play announcer Pat Hughes, and these radio broadcasts were also known as the Pat and Ron Show. He 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. In addition to his broadcasting career, he did commercials for Seattle Sutton’s Healthy Eating, which he endorsed, along with joining Hughes in ads for Walgreens and Chevrolet. In Chicago, Santo was known for his unabashed broadcast enthusiasm, including groans and cheers during the game. As excitable as Santo was when a great play for the Cubs occurred, he was equally as vocal in his displeasure when events turned against the Cubs.

1999

In 1999, he was named to the Cubs All-Century Team.

2002

The Santo family has been involved with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation since 1979, with the annual Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes in Chicago having raised over $65 million for the organization. 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 (3,400 km) from Arizona to Chicago to raise $250,000 for diabetes research. During the 2016 World Series, the JDRF hosted watch parties for road games hosted by family members.

2003

Following revamped voting procedures for the Veterans Committee, which had elected players retired for over 20 years to the Hall of Fame, 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.

On September 28, 2003, Santo’s jersey No. 10 was retired by the Cubs organization, making him the third player so honored behind his teammates Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26). Other prominent Cubs had worn No. 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. 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. About a month after Santo’s death, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts announced that Santo would be honored by the Cubs in the 2011 season. From spring training through the end of the season, the Cubs wore a patch on the sleeve of their jersey with the number 10 on it.

2004

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

2005

Even though Santo was disappointed at being bypassed by the Hall of Fame, on the day his jersey number 10 was retired by the Cubs, the ever-optimistic and emotional “old Cub” told the cheering Wrigley Field crowd, “This is my Hall of Fame!” During Ryne Sandberg’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech in 2005, Sandberg reiterated his support for Santo’s selection, saying, “…for what it’s worth, Ron Santo just gained one more vote from the Veterans Committee.” 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.

2010

Santo died at 12:40 am on December 3, 2010 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. 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.

Santo’s next opportunity for admission to the Hall of Fame following a further major change to the voting structure and process announced in 2010, came during the voting in 2011 by the new 16-member Golden Era Committee which considers every three years, ten candidates identified by the Historical Overview Committee from the 1947 to 1972 era.

2011

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.

Although Santo became a widely supported candidate for selection, his initial poor showing in balloting has been attributed to various factors, including a longtime tendency of BBWAA voters to overlook third basemen; at the time Santo retired, only three of the over 120 players elected were third basemen, and only Pie Traynor had been elected by the BBWAA. Also, the fact that Santo’s best years occurred in the 1960s, when offensive statistics were relatively lower than in many other eras (due to an enlarged strike zone and raised pitcher’s mounds, among other things), has been cited as a factor that led the voters to perhaps overlook him. Another possible reason that was suggested was that voters had not focused sufficiently on Santo’s high walk totals and defense. These aspects of play are perhaps more valued by sabermetrics — newer methods of evaluating a baseball player’s productivity — than they have been by BBWAA voters in the past. For example, Santo’s career adjusted on-base plus slugging (OPS+; the sum of a player’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage, adjusted for the park and league in which he played, and expressed as a percentage of the league average) would rank him exactly in the middle of the ten major league third basemen who were in the Hall of Fame in 2011.

On December 5, 2011, the 16-member Golden Era Committee that began voting on ten candidates selected by the BBWAA screening committee, 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. Santo’s widow Vicki accepted the plaque on Induction Day, and spoke about his love of the Cubs and his devotion to sufferers of diabetes.

🎂 Upcoming Birthday

Currently, Ron Santo is 81 years, 6 months and 26 days old. Ron Santo will celebrate 82nd birthday on a Friday 25th of February 2022.

Find out about Ron Santo birthday activities in timeline view here.

Ron Santo trends

trends.embed.renderExploreWidget(“TIMESERIES”, {“comparisonItem”:[{“keyword”:”Ron Santo”,”geo”:””,”time”:”today 12-m”}],”category”:0,”property”:””}, {“exploreQuery”:”q=Ron Santo&date=today 12-m”,”guestPath”:”https://trends.google.com:443/trends/embed/”});

FAQs

  1. Who is Ron Santo
    ?
  2. How rich is Ron Santo
    ?
  3. What is Ron Santo
    ‘s salary?
  4. When is Ron Santo
    ‘s birthday?
  5. When and how did Ron Santo
    became famous?
  6. How tall is Ron Santo
    ?
  7. Who is Ron Santo
    ‘s girlfriend?
  8. List of Ron Santo
    ‘s family members?
  9. Why do people love Ron Santo?

Aakash Chopra (Cricket Player)...

Name: Aakash ChopraOccupation: Cricket PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: September 19, ...

Sara Maria Forsberg (Musicians)...

Name: Sara Maria ForsbergOccupation: MusiciansGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 2, ...

Tia Wright (Weight Lifter)...

Name: Tia WrightOccupation: Weight LifterGender: FemaleBirth Day: November 4, ...

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Scientists)...

Name: Zhores Ivanovich AlferovReal Name: Zhores AlferovOccupation: ScientistsGender: MaleBirth Day: March 15, ...

Wendy O. Williams (Actor)...

Name: Wendy O. WilliamsOccupation: ActorGender: FemaleHeight: 170 cm (5' 7'')Birth Day: May...

Silas Nacita (Football Player)...

Name: Silas NacitaOccupation: Football PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: November 25, ...

Aakash Chopra (Cricket Player) – Overview, Biography

Name: Aakash ChopraOccupation: Cricket PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: September 19, ...

Sara Maria Forsberg (Musicians) – Overview, Biography

Name: Sara Maria ForsbergOccupation: MusiciansGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 2, ...

Tia Wright (Weight Lifter) – Overview, Biography

Name: Tia WrightOccupation: Weight LifterGender: FemaleBirth Day: November 4, ...

Zhores Ivanovich Alferov (Scientists) – Net Worth 2020

Name: Zhores Ivanovich AlferovReal Name: Zhores AlferovOccupation: ScientistsGender: MaleBirth Day: March 15, ...

Wendy O. Williams (Actor) – Overview, Biography

Name: Wendy O. WilliamsOccupation: ActorGender: FemaleHeight: 170 cm (5' 7'')Birth Day: May 28, ...

Silas Nacita (Football Player) – Overview, Biography

Name: Silas NacitaOccupation: Football PlayerGender: MaleBirth Day: November 25, ...

Susan Cowsill (Pop Singer) – Overview, Biography

Name: Susan CowsillOccupation: Pop SingerGender: FemaleBirth Day: May 20, ...

Scott Hoch (Golfer) – Overview, Biography

Name: Scott HochOccupation: GolferGender: MaleBirth Day: November 24, ...

Winnie Lau (Singers) – Overview, Biography

Name: Winnie LauOccupation: SingersGender: FemaleBirth Day: July 24, ...