I apologize for the hour, as I would have posted on this earlier but just found out, but Cubs third baseman and diabetes advocate Ron Santo has died at the age of 70 from bladder cancer:
Mr. Santo, a nine-time All Star, was considered the finest National League third baseman of his era, but he was perennially rejected for membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in what same observers considered a travesty.
He won five Gold Glove awards as the league's top fielder at his position and was an excellent hitter, with a career batting average of .277. When he retired in 1974, his 342 home runs were the second-most ever by a third baseman.
Sportswriters often called Mr. Santo the best player not in the Hall of Fame, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) once wrote a letter urging the Hall of Fame voting committee to vote for Mr. Santo. But he always fell short of baseball's ultimate honor.
I must say that it was hard to hold back the tears when I heard the news today. The fact that Cooperstown wouldn't honor this man is a blight on the entire intuition, May God bless the Santo family and the entirety of Cubs nation that is now weeping with them:
When the Cubs would make an error or give up a homer, you would hear his displeasure. When the Cubs won or turned a double play, you would hear his happiness.
And that was part of the reason we all fell in love with Ronnie. When you would listen to him, you could feel the love he had for the game of baseball. That love would wear off on you, and it wore off onto generations of Cubs fans including myself.
LINK
In remembrance of Ron Santo you can buy the DVD "This Old Cub" with proceeds from the purchase benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or you can donate directly to the JDRF of Illinois.
