Pat Hughes eulogizes Ron Santo

This is 18 minutes long, but definitely consider watching it if you have some extra time.

To Ron Santo, Hall of Famer in our hearts: We'll miss you

I can't help it: the first thing I think about when I think of Ron Santo is how he deserved to be in the Hall of Fame but never got that call. Every Cubs fan knows how much it meant to him, and baseball fans all over the country recognize how deserving he was. (I made my case last year.)

But that's just the first thing that comes to mind. When I heard that Santo had died last Friday, a number of other thoughts flooded my mind. Like his sense of humor. Was there a broadcast in his 21-year radio career in which he did not have a good, hearty laugh about something? Whether it was with regard to a play on the field, a story from his storied past, or just Pat Hughes's choice of sweater for the day, Santo was always ready to be amused and able to make his listeners laugh.

His upbeat attitude was more notable when you consider that he suffered from diabetes, had both legs amputated below the knee, and battled various health issues virtually his entire life. When he was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 18, he was given a life expectancy of 25 years. He died at the age of 70.

But he rarely talked about his struggle. When he did, it was usually to make a joke at his own expense, or during one of the many fundraisers he organized and attended to raise money for diabetes research.

I also thought about how humble Santo was. While Santo clearly wanted to be elected to the Hall of Fame, he let others make his case for him. Unlike so many other color commentators who are former players, he wasn't constantly trying to find a way to squeeze in some personal success story or some example of his greatness, even though he had countless stories of success and embodied greatness on the baseball diamond. Those who knew him say that he was a very grounded, normal person, far from the typical ex-professional athlete. Ron Santo was different. He was much more concerned with being known as a good person than a good athlete.

I thought about the beauty of listening to Pat and Ron on the radio during a long drive, or out in the backyard. An objective analysis of Ron's announcing skills wouldn't be pretty (often fails to utilize cough button properly; frequently inquires as to what just happened in the game; tends to talk over the action; struggles with players' names), but a subjective analysis? Awesome. Heartfelt. Hilarious. Passionate. Ron was a necessary cog in the Cubs machine. I can't imagine tuning in to WGN next season and hearing Pat alongside somebody else. He wasn't a "good" announcer in the truest sense, but he was a great announcer nevertheless.

Perhaps more than anyone else in history, Ron Santo embodied the Cubs. He was a member of some of the most beloved Cubs teams of all time. He was one of the organization's most successful players of all time (Bleed Cubbie Blue has him 7th on the all-time list, behind only Banks, Cap Anson, Sosa, Sandberg, Williams and Hartnett). His jersey number flies from the left field foul pole. And he had been a fixture in the radio booth since 1990.

His name is on the short list one would use to describe the Cubs. As in, what do the Cubs mean to me? In no particular order: Bleachers, Harry Caray, Santo, Sandberg, ivy on the wall, Wrigley Field, Cubs-Cardinals rivalry, loyalty ... He's in there. Santo's a part of that answer for every Cubs fan. He was the Cubs. And even now that he's gone, he still is.

My overriding thought when it comes to Ron Santo is this: he was one of a kind. He put up Hall of Fame-caliber stats despite battling diabetes. He was one of the most colorful color commentators out there. He was happy, kind and humble whereas many people in his position wouldn't have been. He loved life, and fittingly brought joy to so many others' lives throughout his playing and broadcasting career. He was a Cubs legend and a baseball legend, and he was a legend in life. We will miss you, Ron.

Here is a tribute video courtesy of the Tribune:

While Santo would never get down for long, a bad play or a tough loss would definitely frustrate him. But that's what made his ebullience when the Cubs did well so much more real. There was nothing better than hearing the pure joy in his voice when something unexpected or exciting would happen on the field. Here is just one of those many moments:

Cubs sign big-time free agent

It looks like this is about as big as it's going to get this offseason--Ron Santo signed a three-year extension with WGN Radio, and will continue to serve as the color analyst for Cubs games.

I'm not sure what it says if you click that link at this moment, but as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday--the day after the story was originally posted--the subheader said "Former Cubs DH entering 21st season in radio booth."

Huh? DH? Ron Santo did a lot of very impressive things in his career, but serving as the designated hitter for an organization that has never had a designated hitter was not one of them. While Santo did play DH for 47 games with the White Sox in 1974, he is certainly not a former Cubs DH.

It's too bad there aren't broadcasts during the offseason, because I can just hear Santo now:

Pat Hughes: "Jim Hendry still hasn't found a suitor for Milton Bradley."

Santo: "Aww, man!! Come on!!"

Hughes: "One of Hendry's free agent targets, Mike Cameron, signed a deal with the Red Sox."

Santo: "Nooooooo!!!!"

Hopefully by the time his new three-year deal is up, Pat Hughes will be able to introduce his partner as "Hall of Famer Ron Santo."

The Curious Case of Cubs Ks

Saturday: Cubs 5, Mets 3


2009 could mark the end of an era. I refer to the Cubs' streak of leading the league in strikeouts dating back to 2001. Trailing the Giants by 36 (and in fourth place overall) after Saturday's action, it looks like the Cubs might finally relinquish the strikeout throne. While it's not an inherently good category in which to lead the league (strikeouts lead to higher pitch counts, and obviously aren't as strong an indicator of pitching strength as something like ERA or WHIP), I for some reason find it immensely enjoyable to see them at the top of the heap in this particular category every single year. The race isn't over yet, but the Cubs are really going to have to hunker down and start focusing on racking up those punchouts.

Rich Harden did his due diligence on Saturday, fanning 10 in five innings of work (what was it I was saying about strikeouts and pitch counts? Harden threw 102 pitches in five innings, partly because of all those Ks). All 10 strikeouts were of the swinging variety, and it's the third time he's reached double digits this season. I don't know how it's possible, but Harden's career high in strikeouts is still 11.

Derrek Lee provided some offense for Harden, having apparently been re-energized by a couple days off or by the birth of his second child, a son, or both. He hit a home run for each of his children, both into the second deck in left center. He's one home run shy of 30, and just two points shy of .300.

Thanks to Citi, Santo can finally enjoy New York City


Listening to Ron Santo's annual lamentations regarding the existence of Shea Stadium, his least favorite place in the whole world, would have been comical had it not been so evident how much it truly pained him to be there. But with Shea Stadium gone forever, Santo can finally take a bite out of the Big Apple each year without taking extra blood pressure medicine. He went so far as to say he likes the Mets' new digs. I feel like Santo probably had a Shea Stadium demolition watching party at his place last year.

Zook on the hot seat?


I don't know enough about Illini football or Zook's contract situation to actually know if he might be on the hot seat. What I do know is that he went 2-10 in 2006, had a great year which included a Rose Bowl appearance (and blowout loss) in 2007, but then went 5-7 last year. And I also know that the nearly-ranked Illini got pushed around in 2009's season opener against a Missouri team that lost 23 seniors from last year. 37-9 was the final, a terrible start for the boys in orange and blue.

But it's the conference schedule that really matters, and here's another thing I know: the Illini better beat the living daylights out of Illinois State next week, and they better use this creampuff matchup to work out all the kinks. Because once Big Ten play begins for them on September 26, it's full steam ahead: Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State are the first three opponents listed on their conference schedule, and they just happen to be rated 1, 2 and 3 preseason in the Big Ten. If the Illini find themselves sliding downhill as quickly as they did in their game against Mizzou, it seems to me that Zook might suddenly feel like he's sitting on a Bunsen burner.

Crosstown Class-ick

Thursday: White Sox 5, Cubs 0

I got it! I got it! I don't got it.

Carlos Torres? Seriously?? A 27-year-old rookie making his third major league start and shooting for his first major league win? And all he does is throw seven scoreless innings in 2009's final installment of the Crosstown Craptastic.

This loss is on Alfonso Soriano. Congratulations to Derrek Lee, who was attending to the birth of his second child, but it's a shame he had to miss the game, as Jake Fox was then forced to play first base instead of left field. Down 1-0, Soriano came to the plate with runners at first (Fox) and third and one out ... and struck out. Then, still in a 1-0 game, he came up in the seventh with a runner at second (Fox) and nobody out, needing to move him over to third ... and struck out. Baker then singled to right, but Fox was thrown out at the plate. Because Soriano didn't move him to third. Because small ball isn't really his thing. Because he's not a team player.

Oh, and he's not a real dynamite fielder, either. Soriano fell down as he attempted to catch a ball in the eighth, resulting in a three-base, run-scoring error. I'm not even going to feign shock; this is what he does. Even Ron Santo called Thursday's performance "embarrassing." I honestly can't believe we have this guy for five more years (Soriano, not Santo). Five more years! That's 2014! We will have had another presidential election, a summer Olympics, two winter Olympics, and two World Cups by then. And I'll be 32! Maybe some AL team would like to have an aging DH.

Dempster did his part, pitching what should have been eight scoreless innings except for Soriano's dunderhead play out in left. With the first three Sox runs being unearned (due also to an error at first by Fox), the Cubs had pitched 30 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, and the bullpen racked up 22.2 straight scoreless innings. That all ended, however, when Sean Marshall allowed two runs of the earned variety in the ninth.

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College football started last night. To all those teams with championship aspirations: if you're going to lose, you'd better do it now. Lose late in the season and the ridiculous BCS will get ya! And I'm not talking to you, non-major conference teams. You have no right to have championship aspirations you ... you ... you non-major conference teams you!

#10

The title of this post does not refer to the fact that the Cubs are 10-10. Rather, it refers to one of the greatest baseball players ever to wear that jersey number: Ron Santo.

Ron Santo should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame. There are currently 10 third basemen in the Hall (plus three from the Negro Leagues), and Santo's numbers compare solidly with those of the players who are already enshrined in Cooperstown. Here's how his numbers compare with Brooks Robinson, for example:

Santo hit 342 career home runs; Robinson hit 268.

Santo had 1,331 runs batted in, only 26 fewer than Robinson's 1,357.

Santo had a higher career batting average (.277-.267), on-base percentage (.362-.322), and slugging percentage (.464-.401). His OPS was .103 points higher than Robinson's (.826-.723).

Robinson won 10 Gold Gloves compared to Santo's five.

Expert sabermatrician Bill James has stated the Santo is the best player not to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and believes his election is long overdue.

Santo also played with diabetes, a disease that was poorly understood at the time. He is up for induction via a Veterans Committee vote every two years, but the Veterans Committee is terribly constructed, made up solely of living Hall of Famers who feel that it would diminish their accomplishment if more players were allowed into the Hall.

The Cub Reporter did a nice three-part series on the case for Santo to be inducted:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

WGN Radio personality Garry Meier has launched a campaign to get Santo a statue outside Wrigley Field. The Cubs have two statues (Harry Caray and Ernie Banks), have retired four numbers (Santo, Sandberg, Banks and Billy Williams), and will retire the #31 worn by both Greg Maddux and Fergie Jenkins this Sunday.

Santo has done so much for the Cubs on the field and in the broadcast booth, and he's a Cubs legend and a face of the organization. When he had his number retired (a game I was fortunate enough to attend--the sun poked through the clouds just as the flag with his number was raised), he declared: "This is my Hall of Fame."

Hopefully one day Santo will have an actual Hall of Fame induction to call his Hall of Fame, but in the meantime, a statue outside Wrigley Field would no doubt mean a great deal to him. Santo was not just a great player--he's a great person and a great ambassador for the game of baseball. If you'd like to help Get Ron Bronzed, visit Meier's petition here.

(hat tip: Sherry Christol)

Cubs notes
-Ryan Dempster last April: 4-0, 3.16 ERA, two home runs.
Ryan Dempster this April: 1-1, 5.40 ERA, four home runs.

Wednesday marked Dempster's first April loss since returning to the starter role. Dempster has gone exactly six innings in all five starts, which is not terrible but not great either.

-Derrek Lee was back in the lineup Wednesday, but Aramis Ramirez may be headed to the DL. Too bad Jake Fox can't play third base (or anywhere, apparently).

-The Cubs offense has been really hit-or-miss this year (literally): they've scored 10 runs or more three times, and scored two or fewer seven times. They have only scored four, five or six runs (typically the most common totals) three times all year. The Cubs' offensive consistency last year was largely a function of being selective at the plate, drawing walks and driving up their on-base percentage. Going into Wednesday's game, the Cubs were ninth in the NL in walks and 15th of 16 in OBP.

-Maybe Derrek Lee is just missing, maybe he only has warning track power nowadays. The latter seems more likely to me. Lee hit another fly ball to the warning track Wednesday, and has been doing so a lot this year. Lee has managed to knock the ball over the fence once, but it seems like his bat only has about 370 feet of juice in it, or a little less if he hits it down the line.