page_title: Ron Santo
section_title: Chicago Cubs (1960–1973)
hierarchical_section_title: Ron Santo / Major league career / Chicago Cubs (1960–1973)
caption_attribution_description: English: Chicago Cubs third baseman en:Ron Santo in a 1961 issue of Baseball Digest.
context_page_description: Ronald Edward Santo was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974. In 1990, Santo became a member of the Cubs broadcasting team providing commentary for Cubs games on WGN radio and remained at that position until his death in 2010. In 1999, he was selected to the Cubs All-Century Team. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
  Santo was raised in Southeast Seattle, attending Franklin High School, and played newly organized youth baseball in the Babe Ruth League. He grew up near Sicks Stadium, home of the Pacific Coast League’s Seattle Rainiers, and had summer jobs there as a batboy, groundskeeper and clubhouse attendant, while playing three sports in high school. At age 14 he made the Seattle, Washington All Star Babe Ruth team which advanced to the 1954 Babe Ruth World Series. In a game at then Washington DC Stadium, Dave Tacher inserted Santo at first base to replace his 15 year old who broke his thumb. In that game Santo hit a grand slam home run over the 354 foot mark in left center field and the Washington All Stars defeated Tennessee.
context_section_description: Santo was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Cubs in 1959, and made his debut on June 26, 1960. In 1961 he set a Cubs record with 41 double plays at third base, breaking the previous mark of 33 set by Bernie Friberg in 1923. In 1962 he led the National League in assists for the first time with 332, setting the team record for assists at third base, breaking the mark of 323 set by Randy Jackson in 1951. Santo continued to lead the NL in assists every year through 1968, breaking Ned Williamson's major league record of leading the league six times; Brooks Robinson went on to lead the American League eight times. Mike Schmidt eventually tied Santo's NL mark of seven. In 1963 Santo broke the modern NL record with 374 assists at third base, passing Tommy Leach's 1904 mark of 371. In 1966, he set the all-time league record with 391, the previous record being Billy Shindle's 382 in 1892; his total was 99 higher than that of league runner-up Ken Boyer. Santo broke his own record in 1967 with 393 assists, which remained the NL record until Schmidt posted 404 in 1974. He also finished fourth in the 1967 NL Most Valuable Player Award voting results. Santo's assist totals from 1963 through 1968 were the six highest by an NL third baseman between 1905 and 1973. He also led the NL in putouts every year from 1962 through 1967 and again in 1969, tying the league record shared by Pie Traynor and Willie Jones in leading the league seven times; Tim Wallach later tied the mark as well.
  Santo was deeply saddened by the loss of teammate Ken Hubbs, the Cubs second baseman, killed in a plane crash just prior to the 1964 season. Santo was interviewed by Tom Harmon, narrator of the film A Glimpse of Greatness–The Story of Ken Hubbs, in which Santo paid the highest respects to the young Hubbs.
  In 1969, Santo and the Cubs were in first place in the National League East for 180 days, before going 8–17 in their final 25 games, while the New York "Miracle" Mets went 37–11 in their final 48 games. During that season, the Cubs sent their entire starting infield, including Santo, to the All-Star Game in Washington, D.C.; he and Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger started for the NL team. Santo finished the season with a .289 batting average, 29 home runs and a career-high 123 runs batted in (RBI), and finished fifth in the NL's MVP voting.
caption: Santo in 1961
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