Ron Santo

Played For
Chicago Cubs (1960-1973)
Chicago White Sox (1974)

All-Time Rankings
Ron Santo ranks #7 among the Top 50 all-time at 3B. Rankings ⇒

Best Season: 1964
The wrong third baseman won the MVP Award. Cardinal Ken Boyer took home the hardware as his team won the pennant, but Santo outplayed him in '64. Santo batted .312, hit 33 doubles, 13 triples (which led the NL), 30 homers, drove in 114, walked 86 times and won the Gold Glove. Not sure how any other third baseman was deemed more valuable.

Stable Cubs
The Cubs of the 1960s and early 1970s are one of the most talented teams who never made the post-season. Ron Santo became the third baseman in 1960, and for the remainder of the decade, the Cubs had a very stable lineup of players. Ernie Banks played two years at short next to Santo and eight years at first; Don Kessinger moved into the shortstop spot in 1965 and stayed for 11 seasons; that same year, Glenn Beckert won the second base job, which he filled through 1973; for four seasons Dick Bertell was the Cubs' starting catcher, and starting in '66 Randy Hundley enjoyed an eight-year run behind the plate, through 1973; Billy Williams was starting in the outfield every year from 1961 to 1973.

Banks (1B), Beckert (2B), Kessinger (SS), Santo (3B), Hundley (C) and Williams (LF or RF) were 75% of the team's lineup from 1966-1969. Five of those players were in the starting lineup in four other seasons (1965, 1970, 1972, 1973). In 1966 the six players played in 910 of 972 possible games at their positions. In 1967 it was 916 of 966, in 1968 it was 949 of 972, and in '69 it was 917 of 972. Thus, for four seasons, the six played in 95% of the Cubs' games.

The manager of those Cubs teams was Leo Durocher, who had favored a set lineup when he led the Dodgers and Giants in the 1940s and 1950s. Durocher had the advantage of having very durable players in Chicago. Banks played at least 150 games 12 times in his career. Santo had a 390-consecutive games played streak at one time and appeared in at least 160 games seven times. Kessinger played at least 150 games eight times, and missed just 43 games from 1968 to 1975. Williams set the NL record for most consecutive games played (1,117).

Description
Santo was a volatile competitor, and more than once in his career he had run-ins with teammates, opponents, media and managers. Yet, in 1969 he started a post-game ritual that was deemed "hokey" by many. He would click his heels together after each Cubs' win. The Cubs made a run for the division title, but fell short and Santo stopped clicking his heels. Santo was wildly popular in Chicago, and still remains so, having become a broadcaster after his playing career. But there were times in his career when he was booed at Wrigley Field. One was in the heat of the division race in 1969, after he tore into Cubs' outfielder Don Young for making two costly misplays. Even though he apologized the next day, Cubs' fans booed Santo during his next home game.

Born
Ronald Edward Santo was born on February 25, 1940, in Seattle, WA.

Batted:  Right
Threw:  Right

Primary Position:  3B

Primary Team:  CHN

Major League Debut
June 26, 1960

Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1960
Willie Davis
Ron Santo
Joe Torre
Leo Cardenas
Deron Johnson
Dick McAuliffe
Matty Alou
Phil Regan
Ray Sadecki

Similar Players
None truly similar, Ken Boyer and Gary Gaetti are the closest. Santo was clearly better than Gaetti but it's not so clear that he was a better player than Boyer.

Related Players
Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Glenn Beckert, Don Kessinger, Randy Hundley

Hall of Fame Voting Year Election Votes Pct 1980 BBWAA 15 3.9% 1985 BBWAA 53 13.4% 1986 BBWAA 64 15.1% 1987 BBWAA 78 18.9% 1988 BBWAA 108 25.3% 1989 BBWAA 75 16.8% 1990 BBWAA 96 21.6% 1991 BBWAA 116 26.2% 1992 BBWAA 136 31.6% 1993 BBWAA 155 36.6% 1994 BBWAA 150 33.0% 1995 BBWAA 139 30.2% 1996 BBWAA 174 37.0% 1997 BBWAA 186 39.3% 1998 BBWAA 204 43.1%

Awards and Honors
1964 NL Gold Glove
1965 NL Gold Glove
1966 NL Gold Glove
1967 NL Gold Glove
1968 NL Gold Glove

Feats
In 1967, Santo set a major league record with 393 assists at third base... On May 31, 1966, Santo set an NL record by playing in his 364th straight game at third base. The streak eventually reached 390.

Milestones
Collected his 2,000th career hit on August 26, 1972, at Wrigley Field off the Giants' Ron Bryant. The base hit also drove in the 1,200th run of his career.

Notes
When teammate Ken Holtzman hurled a no-hitter on August 19, 1969, Santo blasted the game-winning three-run homer off Phil Niekro... On July 6, 1970, Santo had a monster day. In a doubleheader, he won game one with a two-run blast, while in the nitecap he drove in eight runs on two more taters... On September 3, 1963, Santo tied an NL record with three errors in one inning against the Giants in a 16-3 loss.

Hitting Streaks
28 games (1966)

Transactions
Santo was the first player to invoke his privilege under the "Ten and Five" rule, which states that a team cannot trade a player who has been in the league at least 10 years and been with that club for at least five, without his permission. In December, 1973, the Cubs wanted to trade Santo to the Angels for two young pitchers, but Santo refused. Less than a week later, the Cubs dealt Santo to the White Sox for Steve Stone and a few others. Santo agrees to the deal.

All-Star Selections
1963 NL
1964 NL
1965 NL
1966 NL
1968 NL
1969 NL
1971 NL
1972 NL
1973 NL

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