This Old Snub

For the third time in a row, the Veterans Committee failed to vote anyone into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The most ridiculous part of this whole travesty is that HOF-worthy Ron Santo fell five votes short of election into the Hall.

Ron Santo was the Cubs third baseman from 1960-1973 (right side of picture above, with Milton Berle and teammate Ernie Banks). He played with the Cubs for all but one year in his career (he played with the White Sux in 1974 before retiring), and in during that time he was one of the most dominating players in his position.

He played his whole career while suffering from Type I diabetes, which back in the 1960s (before portable blood sugar monitors) was no easy feat. In 2001-2002, Santo had to get both of his legs amputated due to complications from diabetes. He is now a sports broadcaster for WGN Radio.

Here is an excerpt from an ESPN.com article by Gene Wojciechowski that hits the nail right on the head:

...How could those other 25 committee members who cast ballots for player candidates not look at Santo's numbers and recognize greatness? How could they examine the era in which he played -- and the physical circumstances he endured (Santo was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 18, but he kept it secret until late in his career) -- and not ask him to join the HOF Class of 2007?
There are only 13 third basemen in the Hall of Fame. He should have been No. 14, but the Hall of Fame has a disturbing blind spot when it comes to that position.
Santo was a nine-time All-Star and a five-time Gold Glove winner, and he led the National League in walks four times (respect). He batted cleanup in a Cubs lineup that featured future Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Billy Williams, and during a 13-year period he averaged 25 home runs, 96 RBI and 156 games. He finished his career with a .277 batting average, 1,331 RBI and 342 non-juiced home runs (unless you count insulin shots). His numbers, James once told me, were comparable to some Hall of Fame outfielders and first basemen.
And yet, those credentials somehow aren't impressive enough for the Veterans Committee. Sometimes I wonder if some of those voters have bronze for brains. Santo played with diabetes and still collected 2,254 hits and batted .300 or better four times. Even in 1969, when the Cubs threw up on themselves down the stretch, Santo drove in a career-best 123 runs.

In 2004, Ron Santo was the subject of a documentary written, filmed and produced by his son Jeff called This Old Cub. I remember watching it and there was one story that I just love and shows Santo's skill and passion for the game. It was close to the end of a baseball game that the Cubs were losing. Santo was on deck with two outs when he started to get dizzy and blurred vision. He knew what was happening: his blood sugar was starting to get low. He was hoping that the batter would strike out to end the game so he could go back in the dugout and take care of it, but the guy made it on base, and Ron was up. He stepped into the batter's box and looked up at the pitcher, but his vision was so blurred that he saw three pitchers on the mound and three baseballs being pitched. He concentrated as hard as he could, and on the next hittable pitch he swung at the middle of the three baseballs. He connected, and the ball flew out of the park. Home run!!!

There are a few theories as to why Ron Santo has been snubbed all these years. Some believe it is because he played for the Cubs and therefore never led his team into the playoffs. Some believe it there is a bias against third basemen in HOF voting. Still others believe that Ron Santo is simply not liked personally by some voters. In any case, how could the elitist snobs in the Veteran's Committee not vote for a man with such obvious HOF numbers and who played the game with such dignity and respect? With his health deteriorating every year, I can only hope he does get inducted during the next Veterans Committee vote in 2009.