Ron Santo has passed away.

[justBLAZE]

RIP.

[hogan873]

That's too bad. I hadn't heard anything about him being that ill.

[Quin]

RIP Santo.

[soxrwhite]

He was a character, but he could play.

[FlaSoxxJim]

RIP Mr. Santo.

[LittleHurt05]

RIP Mr. Santo. Listening to the Cubs lose on the radio won't be the same without you.

[BigSqwert]

Your color commentary will be missed by many. And I'll never forget that call where what's-his-name dropped an easy fly ball in the outfield during the stretch run. OH NO!!!!!!

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

RIP Santo

 

Condolences to the Cubs & their fans

 

Never a fan personally, but anyone that passionate about the game is great for the game overall and will be sadly missed.

[maggsmaggs]

Very sad. Great human being.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

Your color commentary will be missed by many. And I'll never forget that call where what's-his-name dropped an easy fly ball in the outfield during the stretch run. OH NO!!!!!!

+1

 

Cubs baseball will never again be so hilarious.

[ThunderBolt]

I suspect he’ll get into the Hall of Fame now and it will be an incredibly hollow tribute. This man prostituted himself for the award year in and out, whether he was truly deserving or not, and had it denied of him. He was a bit wacky, but he was a warrior on the field and off. Rest In.Peace, Ron,

Edited December 3, 2010 by Thunderbolt

[Dick Allen]

RIP. Thoughts to all those that loved him, and there were many who did.

 

As to his HOF potential, my hatred of the Cubs and the fact they have a lot of HOFers made me think he can't be a HOFer, even though I really never saw him play, but I don't know when he's eligible again or even if he's ever eligible, if anyone changes his vote now that he's gone and he gets in, shame on them. Not for letting him in, but for not letting him in when he could have enjoyed it.

[tonyho7476]

Ron Santo? He Gone! I love Homers, like Hawk and Ron. Sorry to see him go. He really loved his team. RIP

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

As a boy in Chicago during a time when the Cubs had so many great players on their team Santo was always my favorite. Even though I was a Sox fan I had a place in my heart for Santo. We shared the same 1st name and a love of 3rd base. Santo handled his diabetes with grace and class raising money and spending time with children's diabetic organizations. He seemed to have a good sense of humor and handled aging and being an amputee very well and inspired many in the same position . Rest in peace Ronnie.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

I could see him getting into the Hall for his contributions to the game both as a player and commentator. He was one of the faces of that organization for a long time, and seriously, if the Hall allows writers and managers and owners and all that, then they should allow him too.

 

From a purist standpoint maybe he doesn't belong in there. But there are so many undeserving people already in, and so many undeserving people headed for the Hall in the future, that it's probably not worth getting upset about. If Santo gets in there will still be many others more undeserving from an impact standpoint, and if he doesn't, well, he's already gone and in a better place, so he probably doesn't really care at this point.

 

BTW this reminds me of that Red Kerr quote, something like "If they induct me posthumously, then I refuse to attend."

[southsider2k5]

Your color commentary will be missed by many. And I'll never forget that call where what's-his-name dropped an easy fly ball in the outfield during the stretch run. OH NO!!!!!!

 

Brant Brown.

 

And RIP, to a guy who should be a Hall of Fame 3B

[smalls2598]

RIP. He was a true fan of his team, and always showed it. And from what I hear, he was a very kind person. I'll miss his unintentional comedy.

[NorthSideSox72]

RIP. Not sure about the Hall, but its hard not to respect someone who obviously loved the game and his team as much as he did, and who (as someone else put it earlier) was a warrior on the field.

 

[Cknolls]

As a parent of a 5 year old with diabetes, his on field accomplishments pale in comparison to everything he has done off the field for people everywhere living with diabetes. And knowing everything I know now about this disease, what he accomplished while playing makes him a HOFer, period. RIP Ronnie.

[Swingandalongonetoleft]

Damn, I was sad to hear about this. I liked listening to Pat and Ron from time to time. RIP

[klaus kinski]

Brant Brown.

 

And RIP, to a guy who should be a Hall of Fame 3B

 

I totally agree-I saw his entire playing career and he was one of the dominant 3B of his era-that's all you can be and that gets you in the Hall of Fame.

[HuskyCaucasian]

Your color commentary will be missed by many. And I'll never forget that call where what's-his-name dropped an easy fly ball in the outfield during the stretch run. OH NO!!!!!!

Brant Brown

[southsider2k5]

I totally agree-I saw his entire playing career and he was one of the dominant 3B of his era-that's all you can be and that gets you in the Hall of Fame.

 

To me, this is my #1 standard for the HOF. I know people like to compare guys across different eras, but you can't do that effectively. If you were to take pitchers from this generation, and compare them to guys in the 60's no guy of the 90's/00's would make it. The opposite would be true of hitters. It is all about a players relative level of dominance during their playing time.

[clyons]

For being one of the most "beloved" Chicago sports figures of all time, there were lots of people that couldn't stand him.

 

I gagged this morning when I heard talk about him never having "complained." No doubt that referred to his many health struggles, but I recall hearing numerous complaints from him about the HOF, some of which, in the last few years, referenced those struggles directly.

 

I don't mean to speak ill of the dead, but Santo was over-canonized during his life, and that's going to go into overdrive in death.

 

Still, peace to him and his family.

 

 

[LittleHurt05]

B & B should be an interesting listen this afternoon.