Will Monday Finally Be Ron Santo's Day?

Hopefully one of the greatest travesties in baseball will come to an end on Monday afternoon—Ron Santo not being included in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

It has been 28 years that Ron Santo has been eligible for election into the hall of fame—and every year it has been the same, no election for Santo.

Once again Santo finds himself at the mercy of the Veterans Committee along with other great players such as Joe Torre and Gil Hodges. 

Santo has been on the veterans committee vote since 2000 and in 2005-2007 he has placed first in voting but did not reach the required number of votes needed for election in the Hall. In the past, third basemen have been overlooked for induction—but why Ron Santo?

Although I am far too young to have ever seen Santo, his career speaks for itself.  Known as a great defensive player, Santo compiled five straight gold gloves from 1964 to 1968. While he was a great defensive player, but his offense was also quite good, compiling 2,254 hits, 342 home runs, 1,331 runs batted in and an amazing .826 OPS at a time when OPS was not a huge stat.

Santo played 14 of his 15 seasons in a Chicago Cubs uniform, and is seen as an icon of Cubs fans young and old because of his unwavering passion for the Cubs. When fans listen to Santo on the radio, they can easily identify with him, because he takes every loss hard and basks in every Cubs win—like any good Cubs fan.

Santo has also been quite and inspirational force in the Chicago community since his retirement and his continual battle with diabetes. In 2001 Santo had his right leg amputated, and in 2002 he lost his left because of diabetes.  He has done everything with in his power to help those with Juvenile Diabetes. In 2002 Santo was named the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's "Person of the Year". 

Ron Santo was not only a great player but is also a great person. With his spectacular playing career and his great heart there is no reason for the veteran's committee to keep Ron Santo from his deserved spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.