December 6, 2010
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#10
I had Friday off work so that meant I got to sleep in. Friday morning at 6:42A.M. I got a text from a friend of mine saying that Ron Santo had died. Who is Ron Santo you ask? Well he used to play 3rd base for my favorite baseball team, the Chicago Cubs. Although he retired before I was even born, he is a Cubs legend. Even though I was not a huge fan, I certainly felt a little down on Friday after learning of his death.
He has been their radio color commentator ever since 1990. For a baseball fan, the team’s broadcasters are important and almost like a friend you watch the game with. With Santo, it was even more pronounced than a typical broadcaster simply because of his love of the Cubs. Truth be told, he was a horrible color commentator. In fact, he brought little if any insight to the game. Most of his commentary revolved around him getting excited when something actually went well for the Cubs or him moaning and groaning when things went bad. Still, he was entertaining because he would always do something funny like when he accidentally caught his hairpiece on fire in the booth one cold afternoon in New York. Or the time last year when he cut his upper lip shaving and had a band aid across his entire upper lip. By the middle of the game, he had gotten rid of part of the band aid and it looked like a Hitler mustache in band aid form. The Cubs tv announcers then put band aids across their lips to kind of make fun of him. He was always a good sport about it though.
As a player, there is much debate about how good he actually was. Many people believe he is the best player not in the Hall of Fame and that he deserves to be there. I’m not so certain that he does deserve to be in the Hall. If there was a Hall of Fame for courage an inspiration, he would be in on the first ballot.
See, Santo played his entire career with diabetes. Sure there are some athletes nowadays who play with diabetes such as Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, but keep in mind this was 50 years ago when it wasn’t nearly as easy to keep it under control and when it wasn’t as common of a disease. He kept it hidden from the team for his first few years of his career. It never hindered his play though, making the All Star team nine times in his 15 year career.
He had his right leg amputated below the knee in 2001 and his left leg remove in 2002. He still went on though, continuing to broadcast Cubs games even as his health declined. His son, Jeff, made a documentary called “This Old Cub” which told the story of his struggle with diabetes and his ever positive outlook. I suggest watching it even if you are not a baseball fan.
I did get a chance to meet him briefly once about eight years go. I also saw him in the concourse before a Cubs game about 18 years ago talking to some excited fans. I passed by him on the way to getting a hot dog. 10 minutes later I walked past him and he was still talking to the same fans, the parents still excited to be talking to him while the kid more than a little annoyed. It was pretty funny, I mean how often does the fan get sick of the celeb before the celeb gets sick of the fan.
Even though he will surely be replaced by somebody who can do a better job on the radio, I will still miss his crazy antics.
