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

It took Chicago Cubs legend, Ron Santo, a long time to gain election to the Hall of Fame. His career took a while for us to appreciate.

You don’t have to convince most Chicago Cubs fans that Ron Santo is a baseball legend. For years, fans were campaigning for him to gain election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The former star third baseman didn’t do much to hide the fact that it would have meant a lot to him during his retirement days. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see it happen, as he passed away in 2010 before it finally happened in 2012.

During that time, Cubs fans cited what he meant to the team throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. However, many baseball fans didn’t feel that Santo deserved induction. Indeed, when we take a quick look at the traditional stats, the numbers aren’t quite there: 2,254 hits, .277 batting average, 342 home runs, and 1,331 RBIs. Especially for a player who plays at a position valued for its offense, that didn’t seem like enough.

However, as time has passed and more advanced statistics have gained in popularity, we’ve come to see Ron Santo in a new light. Many people feel that Santo unduly won election on the strength of his fight with diabetes and his broadcast work after retirement. Yet if we can put all that aside, the statistics make a strong case for Santo’s induction.

Many fans would be surprised to learn that Santo holds a higher career WAR than Ernie Banks does (70.5 vs. 67.8). Yet Banks was a slam-dunk Hall of Fame choice because he has the traditional stats, including 512 home runs and 1,636 RBIs. Santo, however, didn’t get in until nearly four decades after his playing career ended. Here, we look at two reasons why Santo has become more highly valued over the years.

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.