Chicago Cubs: Ron Santo’s career took a while to appreciate

Chicago Cubs: Ron Santo’s defense mattered

Ron Santo was not recognized overall during his playing days, as he never finished higher than fourth in MVP voting and only had three top-ten finishes. However, his defense was recognized by his peers, as he won five straight Gold Glove Awards between 1964 and 1968. He was the dominant defensive player at his position in the National League in the 1960s (while Brooks Robinson dominated in the American League).

However, when we look at the defensive metrics, they also show just how good he was with the glove. He made a lot of errors – 317 in his career – yet that was because he got to so many baseballs. When we look at Santo’s range factor – which measures how many plays he made per nine innings – he was routinely well above league average. For example, during his incredible defensive season of 1967, he was at 3.62, while the league average was 2.96.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs: Adrian Sampson is forcing his way into the conversation
• Projecting the Chicago Cubs bullpen to open the 2023 season
• Cubs fans are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel
• Justin Steele has evolved into a frontline starter for the Cubs
• The future of first base is murky right now for the Cubs

Throughout the 1960s, he was also routinely well above average in Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average; for example, he was worth ten defensive runs above average in 1963 and a whopping 18 in 1967. Overall, Santo posted a decisive defensive WAR every year from 1962 to 1972, including a tremendous 2.7 in that 1967 season.

While Santo might not have been the gloveman that the Robinson mentioned above was, he still was an incredible defensive talent. It’s hard to measure a player’s true defensive worth, yet if he had played today, we’d be able to get a better picture of just how good Santo was on defense due to all the latest technology. Thankfully, more understanding of the game has allowed us to appreciate it.

Chicago Cubs: The Moneyball Approach

The Oakland Athletics popularized the “Moneyball” approach in the early 2000s by placing a massive value on walks. Other teams followed suit, and today we appreciate batters who can take a base on balls much more than we used to. In this way, Ron Santo was way ahead of his time.

While Santo hit at least 25 home runs every year from 1963 to 1970, he also drew at least 86 walks every year from 1964 to 1970. He led the league in walks four times and, mainly on the strength of that, led the league in OBP both in 1964 and 1966. While he was hitting for power and for high averages, Santo’s patience made him a premium offensive talent.

Compare that to the Banks above, who again was more appreciated during his time. Though he had a longer playing career, Banks drew 763 career free passes, while Santo accumulated 1,108. This is not to take anything away from Mr. Cub, as he rightfully remains one of the franchise’s most decorated players. It’s just to show that he and Santo had different approaches at the plate and that one took longer to appreciate than the other did.

Another way that Santo was ahead of his time is that he struck out more often than Banks did, as today we don’t frown on strikeouts as much as we used to. Again, though he played longer, Banks struck out fewer times (1,236) than Santo did (1,343).

Viewed in the context of today’s game, we can see that Ron Santo’s career was more impressive than it may have looked right after his playing days were over. Though he’s always been known for his defense, his patience at the plate is something that we haven’t talked about much. Yet, for both reasons, in addition to the traditional stats, we can see that Santo deserves to be recognized as an all-time great.