Ron Santo

Santo is the heartbreak Cub. As a third baseman he was the complete package, glove and bat, and the fact that he played through Type 1 diabetes in an era with none of today's tools makes his durability almost unbelievable. What gets me is the Hall of Fame timing: he waited decades, missed it while alive, and only got the call after he passed. As a broadcaster his groans and cheers were pure, undisguised fandom, and that authenticity is why Cubs fans still adore him. The retired number 10 at Wrigley feels less like a stat tribute and more like a love letter.

Ron Santo (1940-2010) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who spent the bulk of his career with the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time All-Star and multiple Gold Glove winner, he was widely regarded as one of the finest third basemen of his era despite managing diabetes throughout his playing days. After retiring he became a beloved radio broadcaster for the Cubs, and he was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Name (English)

Ron Santo

Name (Japanese)

ロン・サント

Reading

ろん・さんと

Born

February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Pisces / Dragon

Origin

Seattle, Washington, United States

Occupation

Baseball player

High school

Franklin High School (Seattle, Washington)

Awards & achievements

• Gold Glove Award

Motto

Private

• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88

Tags

• From Washington
• Baseball player

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.