How much was Ron Santo worth?
| Net Worth: | $2 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Baseball Player |
| Date of Birth: | February 25, 1940 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
About Ron Santo
American third baseman Ronald Edward Santo played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974 in Major League Baseball.
- Born: Feb. 25, 1940 in Seattle, Wash.
- Died: Dec. 3, 2010
- Teams: Chicago Cubs (1960-73), Chicago White Sox (1974)
- Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2012
- Height: 6-0
- Weight: 190
- Batted: Right
- Threw: Right
- Primary position: Third baseman
Career Highlights
He was regarded as one of the greatest fielders at third base and served as the Chicago Cubs’ equivalent of the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson for 14 seasons. won five Gold Glove awards in a row between 1964 and 1968.
was also a strong hitter during a time when pitching predominated.
342 home runs and 1,331 RBIs totaled 277 in his career. As of 2011, he had 2,254 hits, placing him 155th all-time. He is 87th in both home runs and RBI. As of 2011, the only third basemen with more home runs are Mike Schmidt and Eddie Mathews.
Nine times, he was selected for the National League All-Star team, and four of those seasons he started.
is the only third baseman in major league history to have 90 or more runs batted in each of his first eight seasons.
four times led the league in walks, and twice in on-base percentage.
His best year was 1964, when he hit.313 with 30 home runs, 114 RBI, and the most triples in the National League with 13.
From 1962 to 1968, led the National League in assists each season. With seven, he shares the record with Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt. Until Schmidt broke them ten years later, he was the NL leader in career assists, total chances, and double plays at third base.
renowned for a heel click motion he began using following a victory in the 1969 campaign. Leo Durocher, the Cubs’ manager, encouraged him to keep doing it, so he did so following the team’s victory that year. Santo stopped using the heel click when the Cubs faltered in September of that year, allowing the “Miracle Mets” to pass them in the standings.
had Type 1 diabetes all of his professional life, starting when he was 18 years old, but kept it a secret.
was the first player to decline a trade in 1972 by using the 10-and-5 rule (10 years in the league, five with the same team). However, he negotiated a deal to move him to the White Sox, who play across town. In 1974 (the second season for the DH rule), he played one season, largely as a designated hitter, before retiring at age 34.
following retirement
a radio pundit who joined the Cubs broadcast team in 1990 and quickly became well-liked for his passion for the team.
In 2001 and 2002, he had to amputate both of his legs due to circulation issues, a result of his diabetes.
The Cubs retired Santo’s No. 10 jersey in 2003.
died in 2010 from bladder cancer and diabetes-related complications, a year before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. His ashes were burned and thrown on the Wrigley Field field.
Journey to the Hall of Fame
first came on the ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Hall of Fame in 1980. He garnered a woeful 15 votes (3.9 percent), far less than the necessary 75 votes to be inducted. Santo, along with a few other forgotten players, were resurrected in 1985, and he earned 13.4% of the total. In the following years, he gradually rose in the polls, reaching a peak of 43% in 1998, his final year on the authors’ vote.
Santo and Gil Hodges, who were taken into consideration by a committee in 2005, garnered 65% of the vote and narrowly missed being elected.
On December 5, 2011, Santo received 15 of the 16 votes needed to be elected to the Hall of Fame by a different committee comprising 16 executives, Hall of Famers, and media members.
