Happy New Year

Happy New Year, we made it to 2012. I have been listening to fireworks and thinking about one of my childhood heroes, Ron Santo. Ron passed on December 3, 2010. I missed his broadcasting with Pat Hughes. Baseball is the greatest sport for broadcasting. In what other sport do you see wit and a sense of humor? Where do you see and hear the fan like you do in the baseball booth? Don Meredith and John Madden come to mind in football. It is baseball that gives us a laugh and conversation that is not so tightly scripted. Ron and Pat were often at their best when they weren’t talking about baseball. Baseball is a great sport for excitement and relaxation. It is a sport you can talk with your friends while watching the game. Like card games or board games the playing is more important than the game at hand.  Ronnie I loved you as a player but I’ll miss you as a broadcaster.

 At the end of the year we think back at those we lost. Ron’s death late in 2010 rolls over to 2011 and the boys of summer and I recalled the devastation his disease had on his body. Ron was baseball. When you remembered how he played and the skill and effort he gave each moment he played it was a no brainer that he should be in the Hall of Fame. He had the glove, power and average to be there. We all remember that he was slow on the bases but in 1964 he led the league in triples. What that tells me is he hustled. I watched him play and you could see his passion with every swing. In the booth you could hear his passion. He actually cared. So when his body was failing the hall should have shown class and voted him in. What were they waiting for? An aging player should get his dues. It is good for the game to see to the old-timers to be remembered. Thanks for the Cubs to honor Ron while he was with us.

 I remember going up to Wrigley and seeing Ernie, Billy and Ronnie hit home runs, RBI’s, big hits. Ron running the bases seemed slow, but at third he was quick as a cat. Ernie it never seemed to miss a throw in the dirt. Ernie had the softest hands. Ron played third in an era of great third basemen.  Ken and Clete Boyer, Brooks Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Eddie Mathews were known for power or their gloves or both. Ron’s glove was golden. Ron’s talent will always be mentioned with great third basemen. Baseball is unique in the regard of history.

 After his playing days baseball was good for Ron and Ron for the game. He loved the game so he knew about it. He lived the game so he could relate the great play of the past with the present. He was upbeat and enjoyed great play he was watching. If the play wasn't so great he let you know it. He passed his love for the game on to his listeners. He had type 1 diabetes and he fought to live to the end. He raised money to help many with the disease. What usually make a great baseball story are the things that go beyond the game. Ron was all about baseball there is no denying, but he went beyond the game to help those who diabetes touched. His enthusiasm for baseball was his enthusiasm for life.  Unable to walk for health he would bike. One day the Cubs will win the World Series and maybe I will live to see it. But what Ron and the Cubs (baseball) teaches me, watch, play and talk the game, embrace it, live life.

Ron was not perfect. For me that was his endearing quality. He wore his emotions on his sleeves. He played professionally with a disease against the odds. He was part of a fantasy in the summer of 69 that had it come through he would have been in the Hall 30 years ago. The "Miracle Mets" are loved by New Yorkers not because they were the most skilled but because they embrace the hope and magic of baseball. Ron's team loved by Cub fans everywhere hold that feeling and it has been 43 years and it is still the season to remember. Yes I remember what Sosa and Mcguire did for baseball. 2003 brought us close, but July in 69 there was nothing like it. Yes we have our battles but there is hope with each walk for people not so perfect. Thanks Ron for your courageous example. Keep walking!