Ron Santo - Legacy

Legacy

Santo was a nine-time National League All-Star, and led the league in walks four times, in on base percentage twice and in triples once. An All-Star-caliber player at Wrigley Field and fairly ordinary on the road, he hit for a .300 average and hit 30 home runs four times each, and is the only third baseman in major league history to post eight consecutive seasons with 90 RBI (1963–1970). The winner of five consecutive Gold Glove Awards for fielding excellence (1964–1968), he set or tied National League records by leading the league's third basemen in total chances eight times, in games, putouts and assists seven times each, and in double plays six times. From 1966 to 1974 he held the National League record for assists in a single season. He also set National League records for career assists (4,532), total chances (6,777) and double plays (389) at third base, all of which were eventually broken by Mike Schmidt between 1986 and 1988; his National League total of 2,102 games at third base fell 52 short of Eddie Mathews' league record, and he then ranked sixth in National League history in putouts (1,930) and ninth in fielding percentage (.954).

Santo led the league in double plays six times (1961, '64, '66–'68, '71), tying the major league record held by Heinie Groh; Schmidt also later tied this record. He led the National League in total chances every season from 1961 through 1968. He appeared at third base in every Cubs game from April 19, 1964 through May 31, 1966, establishing a league record with 364 consecutive games at the position; his 164 games at third base in 1965 remain the major league record.

He was the second player at his position to hit 300 (exactly 342) career home runs, joining Eddie Mathews, and also ended his career ranking second to Mathews among third basemen in slugging average (.464) and third in runs batted in (1,331), total bases (3,779) and walks (1,108). Santo broke Mathews' National League record of 369 career double plays at third base in 1972, and in 1973 he broke Mathews' league records of 4,284 assists and 6,606 total chances. Schmidt passed Santo's record for double plays in 1986, his record for assists in 1987, and his mark for total chances in 1988. During his 14-season run with the Cubs, Santo hit 337 home runs, then the eighth most by a National League right-handed hitter; his 1,071 career walks with the Cubs remain the team record for a right-handed hitter. He was the first third baseman to hit 300 home runs and win five Gold Gloves, a feat since matched only by Schmidt and Scott Rolen.

Santo became the first player in major league history to wear a batting helmet with protective ear flaps, when in 1966, in the midst of trying to break the Cubs' modern consecutive-game hitting streak record of 27 games (set by Hack Wilson in 1929), Santo was sidelined for nearly two weeks following a pitch thrown by the Mets' Jack Fisher (beaning) that fractured his cheekbone and ended his consecutive playing streak. When he returned (and broke the hitting record with a 28-game streak) he was wearing an improvised ear flap on his batting helmet in order to protect the injury; ear flaps have since become standard equipment on batting helmets.

On September 28, 2003, Santo's jersey No. 10 was retired by the Cubs organization, making him the third player so honored behind his teammates Ernie Banks (#14) and Billy Williams (#26). Other prominent Cubs had worn No. 10 after Santo's retirement, notably Dave Kingman and Leon Durham; the most recent wearer had been interim manager Bruce Kimm, just the previous year. In April 2004, Santo was inducted into the inaugural class of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (Washington's high school athletics league) Hall of Fame as a graduate of Seattle's Franklin High School. About a month after Santo's death, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts announced that Santo would be honored by the Cubs in the 2011 season. From spring training through the end of the season, the Cubs wore a patch on the sleeve of their jersey with the number 10 on it.