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When Chicagoist went to overnight camp, there was this game the older campers used to play with the younger ones. They’d tell the youngsters that if they ran the “circuit” from a certain bench, behind cabin 1, in front of cabin 2, etc. to cabin 12 and back to the bench in under a minute they’d get their name on a plaque in Cabin 13, where the CIT’s lived. Of course, there was no plaque, and there was no stopwatch. They’d simply start counting “54 … 55 … 56” as the kids got close. They’d always come up just short. And sometimes they’d puke up lunch.
Why do we tell this story? Because the veterans’ committee seems to be playing a similar game with former Cubs great Ron Santo. For the third time, Santo was denied entry into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Yet again, he came up just short, garnering 70% of the vote when 75% was needed.
Santo once again set himself up for humiliating failure by lobbying for entry, even telling the media he wouldn’t be sleeping Monday night in anticipation. He’s always been known as a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, but his lobbying for admission every time the committee meets makes him come off as desperate as the oldest bridesmaid at a wedding. Maybe showing some humility would help him next time.
Also, his chances would seem to improve as the impact of the steroid era becomes better known. While his career stats of 342 home runs, 1331 RBIs and a .277 batting average don’t seem that impressive by today's steroid-enhanced standards, not many players averaged 30 home runs a year for the better part of a decade back then. Maybe by 2009, the juiced numbers will be more evident and Santo's legacy will be viewed in a more accurate light. Already, we’ve seen the writers keep people out of the hall based on suspicions of juicing — we’re looking at you, Mark McGwire — so maybe the veterans’ committee will do the opposite. Also helping Santo’s cause, he also won 5 consecutive Gold Gloves at 3rd base from 1964-68. And good defense is timeless.
Image via Answers.com.
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I suspect Ron Santo would have made the hall already if he would just GET OVER IT and stop lobbying so hard. Or at the very least, he would save himself a lot of aggravation and heartache. Personally, I think he was a very good player but maybe not quite a hall of famer. Steroid era or not, a .277 batting average is only just that, average.
i have no clue if he belongs in the hall of fame but i hope he doesn't due to his pathetic behavior. the guy's full of himself
Go to YouTube and enter "south side of chicago board of tourism"
Not sure where this is from - but considering you're a northsider (or at least according to your bio on Chicagoist you are) - it's pretty funny.
The name of the chick from Lincoln Park, and the fact that she's standing in front of two condo buildings is pretty ridiculous.
Look at the cell phone on Brett Smalls's desk.
Go to YouTube and enter "south side of chicago board of tourism"
Not sure where this is from - but considering you're a northsider (or at least according to your bio on Chicagoist you are) - it's pretty funny.
The name of the chick from Lincoln Park, and the fact that she's standing in front of two condo buildings is pretty ridiculous.
Look at the cell phone on Brett Smalls's desk.
Um Ron Santo has no legs... Any writer with an ounce of respect and/or dignity would probably be kind in announcing the shooting down of Mr. Santos HOF hopes.. oh wait I am reading Benjy "I hate all things Cubs" Lipsman- nevermind go back to senseless acts of bad sports writing.
What was unkind about it? I'm not a fan of the Cubs or the Sox (don't really hate neither one of them, either) and he's right: Santo's near-desperate begging is pretty unbecoming. His diabetes has nothing to do with any of it.
You heartless bastards!
Killian, in what way does lack of legs impact ones admission into the HOF? Last time, I checked it had to do with one's play on the field during their baseball career. By your rational, should Dave Dravecky get in, too? Jim Abbott?
If anything, I made a case for Santo getting in by stating that his stats are better than one might think initially think, since the "steroid era" has inflated numbers in recent years.
Ron Santo definitely deserves to be in the hall of fame. his career stats are on par with many major leaguers. the position of 3B is vastly underrepresented in the HOF (only 10). his career stats are very similar to Brooks Robinson, hall of famer and widely considered one of the best 3B of all time. Furthermore, Santo played his entire career, unknown to anyone else, with diabetes in a time when the disease was not easy to manage. The reality is that there are people on the veterans committee who don't want him or others in the hall. It's not because he campaigns to get in. And really, can we even call it campaigning? People campaign on his behalf not because he asked them to but because they know he belongs in Cooperstown. He was a great player and he's a great man. He's a goodwill ambassador for a game that's in desperate need of as many as it can get. Of course he wants to get in but what baseball player doesn't? Baseball players have 2 goals, win a world series and get into the hall of fame. He never won a world series, but he still has a chance to get into the baseball hall of fame.
Batting average is an over-rated statistic.
Statistically, very few 3B compare to Santo; those that do are already in the HOF.
I'd also like to add that even though I'm a Cubs fan, I feel Minnie Minoso also deserves to be in the HOF.