The Passing of Italian / American 1969 NY Mets Rival: Ron Santo (1940-2010)

In 1969 Ron Santo & the Chicago Cubs were riding high in first place for 180 games going into September. Back in July after beating Tom Seaver 1-0 in the first game of a big three game series at Wrigley Field, Ron Santo did his traditional leap in the air clicking his heels. The leap began in June in Montreal & manager Leo Durocher liked it so much he told Santo to continue it at Wrigley Field to rev up the team. http://www.centerfieldmaz.com/2009/07/today-in-mets-history-1969-mets-click.html

This did not sit well with the New York Mets who thought it was busch league. The Amazing’s went on to take the next two games proving they were for real, coming within four games of the first place Cubs. In September the Mets took over first place, Santo stopped clicking his heels & then Amazings won the World Series.

What Met fan hasn't ever seen the classic photo of Santo watching the famous black cat run by the on deck circle over to the Cubs dugout on what has become known as 'black cat night" at Shea Stadium in September 1969, during the Mets two game sweep of the Cubs moving with in 1/2 game of first place.

Santo finished the year with 29 HRS (8th in the NL) 123 RBIs (2nd in the NL) a .289 batting average & made his sixth of nine career All Star appearances.

Ronald Edward Santo was born on February 25th, 1940 in Seattle, Washington. The third baseman was signed by the Cubs in 1959 & made their big league club the next season. By 1961 he was a regular, hitting over 20 HRs eleven times, including four straight seasons of 30 plus. He drove in over 90 runs eight straight seasons, four of them were 100 plus RBI seasons. Santo was a lifetime .277 hitter, batting over .300 four times, leading the league in walks four times, & on base percentage twice. He also led the league in triples once & posted four 30 plus doubles seasons. He posted 2254 hits (151 all time), 342 HRs (84th all time) 1331 RBIs (86th all time) 365 doubles (226 all time) 67 triples 1108 walks (73rd all time) & a .362 on base % in 2243 games played (121st all time) over 15 years. His 2130 games at third base are 8th all time, his 4581 assists 5th all time, & his 1955 put outs now 13th.

Defensively he was one of the best third baseman of his time over shadowed only by Baltimore’s Brooks Robinson. Santo won five straight Gold Gloves in the sixties (1964-1968) leading the league in double plays six times, assists & put outs seven times each & fielding % once. He also set National League records for career assists (4,532), total chances (6,777) and double plays (389) at third base, all of which were eventually broken.

In 1966 the Mets jack Fisher hit Santo with a pitch fracturing his cheekbone, during a Cubs team record hitting streak. Santo missed two weeks of action & returned wearing an ear flap on his helmet, making him one of the first players to do so. In 1974 he was one of the first players to decline a trade due to the new ten & five rule negotiated in 1972. He declined the trade to California but accepted a trade across town to the White Sox. The Sox had slugger Bill Melton at third base & Santo was mostly used as a DH, a role he hated. He retired at the end of that 1974 season at the age of 34.

Santo was diagnosed with diabetes as a teenager but hid it from the team in fear he would have to leave the game. He judged his sugar levels by his mood swings before the technology for detection improved.

He did noy make it publicly known until Ron Santo day in Chicago in 1971. The disease would eventually cause him to have both legs amputated & factor in to his passing along with complications from bladder cancer this week. Santo is one of the strongest candidates for the Hall of Fame who never got in because he did not hit some of the magic numbers & never won a World Series.

He did come close many years on the ballot but never received enough votes. Santo had been a radio broadcaster for the Cubs since 1990, working with the likes of Harry Cary, Thom Brennaman, Steve Stone & Bob Brenly. In 2003 his uniform #10 was retired by the Cubs & hangs underneath Mr. Cub’s Ernie Banks.