Chicago Jerseys Retired: Number 10, Ron Santo

Santo performed non-stop. He played 2,102 games with the guys in the Chicago jerseys. In 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1968, five seasons all together, he played for his team in every game of the season. 1966 was a particularly good year for him. Not only did he win the Gold Globe Award and get selected for the All-Star Team that year, but he also hit in 28 consecutive games. That was a club record at the time, though it has since been broken.
Santo knew how to pick his pitches, waiting for strikes and walking at least 87 times in each of eight seasons (1964 through 1971). In four of those seasons, he led the league in walks. Defensively, he was a league-leader. He won the Gold Glove Award in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968. He was on the All-Star team in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1973. He led the league in putouts at third base seven times, in assists from third base seven times, and in double plays four times.
But he never won the MVP Award or played in the post-season. And that's probably because of the misfortunes of the Chicago Cubs during the time he played with them. During Santo's years with the Cubs, from 1960 through 1973, the guys in the Chicago jerseys never got closer to first place than five games out. In fact, in 1962, they finished 42.5 games behind the winners. The finished above .500 seven times, but their highest win-loss percentage was .568, in 1969. In two years, 1962 and 1966, they played .364 ball. Yikes.

Now, legend has it that the Curse of the Billy Goat has plagued the guys in the Chicago jerseys since 1945. And Santo had a role in that legend. It came in 1969. This was during a time when the National League was divided only in two, not in three as it is now, and the Cubs were in the East Division. Now, the guys in the Chicago jerseys had plenty of talent that year. Future Hall-of-Famers Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ferguson Jenkins were on the field and the team was managed by Hall-of-Famer Leo Durocher. And the Cubs had led the second-place New York Mets by as many as 8.5 games that summer. But as the summer wore on, the hot streak wore off. They maintained their lead, but it had slimmed down by September when the Cubs travelled to New York to play a series against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

Then the cat showed up. The black cat. It scampered behind Santo as he was warming up in the on-deck circle when he had a visitor. Then it glared at the team sitting in the dug-out before it scampered away. Whether the black cat brought bad luck or not is a matter of opinion. But the facts are that the guys in the Chicago jerseys lost that game. They lost the series. They lost their lead in the division. They lost 17 games that month. The Mets won the division, the National League pennant, and the World Series.

Ron Santo didn't get to the post-season that year. Or any other.

What no one knew then in 1969, and in fact didn't learn until 1971, is that Ron Santo had been struggling with Type I diabetes for his entire career. He had been diagnosed with the disease at the age of 18, after he had signed with the club, but before he started to play. Santo revealed his battle with the disease when the Cubs feted him on "Ron Santo Appreciation Day." He had never let anyone know about his medical issues because he thought it would jeopardize his chances to play in the Major League.

But even though Santo kept his diabetes a secret, it still affected his career. This excellent ball player, the guy who never missed a game, played a short 15 seasons and retired at the age of 34.

After the 1973 season, Santo was traded to the White Sox, despite the fact that the Sox didn't need a third baseman. When he was started a designated hitter, he requested to be in the field so he was put on the line-up at second base. He never felt comfortable at second. He was, after all, a third baseman. At second base, with the White Sox, he struggled to play up to his standards. But he was wearing out. He retired at the end of the season.

Santo's battle with diabetes continued into his retirement. As a direct result of his diabetes, he has lost both legs, amputated below the knee in 2001 and 2002. But although Santo is an amputee, he has also used his disease to inspire others to walk. Since 1974, he has sponsored the Ron Santo Walk to Cure Diabetes. He has raised over $50,000,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The Chicago Cubs retired his jersey in 2003. In 2005, he missed the Hall of Fame by eight votes. In 2007, he was five votes short. In 2009, he will be eligible again to join his former teammates Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins, and his former coach Leo Durocher by being elected into the Hall. In the meantime, he continues as a member of the Cubs family by doing the color commentary for Cubs games on WGN radio.