ESPN Conversation

thesullys@myfrontiermail.com

i swore i would be there when santo got in. i let you down ronnie. i was at your funeral but due to finances i could not be with you at your induction ceremonies. when i go back to work, i will get to cooperstown as soon as i can. you are my baseball hero and always will be! ...
303 Days ago

Akshay Garg

1.Schmidt 2.Brett 3.Robinson 4. Matthews 5.Santo
304 Days ago

thesullys@myfrontiermail.com

its like arguing the best quarterback of all time. allyou listed were great in their own way. all deserved the honor
303 Days ago

sweetchuck96

Ron Santo's widow gave a very touching and moving speech.
304 Days ago

amesfan06

Congrats to santo finally going in. Too bad he isn't alive to enjoy it. Its not like his stats changed from last yr to this yr. Let these players in before they pass.
304 Days ago

amesfan06

Glad he is finally going in. Too bad he isn't alive to see it. That is a shame. Its like his numbers have changed from last year to this year. Congats Ron
304 Days ago

JoeSantoro1958

I agree that he deserved to get in based on his playing career. But the reality of the matter is that if he wasn't a broadcaster the past two decades or so,. he would have fallen out of the public and media's eye and he never would have gotten in. A perfect example is a player like Dick Allen. Allen had basically the same stats as Santo and was a more feared hitter. He won a league MVP and Santo never came close to doing that. Allen was a better base runner by far and also played third base just like Santo early in his career. But Allen will never get in because he doesn't have a presence in the media and he doesn't have WGN to campaign for him.
304 Days ago

ImSmartherThanYou

The "public and media" didn't vote him in. His now-fellow HOFers did. Santo should have been elected by the BBWAA decades ago, but at least the VC finally realized the error of their ways and corrected the wrong, even if Ron didn't live to see it.
303 Days ago

sandbagger174

Also Dick played more games at 1st Base then 3rd where only played about 675 or roughly 4 1/2 seasons
304 Days ago

sandbagger174

I agree with you that Dick Allen may have better numbers but Dick Allen also was unreliable of a player. He retired on the White Sox it was either during the season or during spring season. He never followed team rules. But I also agree with in the fact that Dick should be considered for the HOF
304 Days ago

basmith092000

Congratulations, Ron Santo!! He deserved to be enshrined during his lifetime, but all of his fans will be able to enjoy it for him. Anyone who says he doesn't deserve to be in the Hall does not understand baseball. One of the absolute best players of his era! He was top 5 in WAR in the entire MLB three years in a row, including first place overall once...ahead of players like Mays, Aaron, Koufax, Yaz, etc. He was a beast!
305 Days ago

thesullys@myfrontiermail.com

Stan daMann

The WAR statistic is worthless. The old adage should be changed to "There are lies, d**n lies, and WAR statistics". The stat is dependent on who is playing the position at the time, and a player could be overrated or undervalued based on what time period he plays in. For example, NL 1st basemen used to include Pujols, Fielder, and Howard, but not this year; and suddenly LaHair is an all star.
304 Days ago

Stan daMann

The WAR statistic is worthless. In fact, they need to change the old saying to, "There are lies, damn lies, and WAR statistics." The WAR could overinflate or underrate the player's value, based on who happens to be playing that position that year, or for those years. We have all see periods of time when there just happen to many great players at a certain position, and times when there aren't very many at all. For example, NL 1st baseman for years had Pujols, Howard, Fielder, Votto, etc.; suddenly only Votto remains, and LaHair is an all star.
304 Days ago

sosason

BASEBALL SHOULD BE SHAMED THAT IT TOOK THIS LONG TO ADD MR. SANTO TO THEIR HALL OF FAME. I WATCHED THE SANTO SPECIAL ON THE MLB AND I WANTED TO CRY. TO THINK THAT HE WILL BE ENSHRINED AFTER HIS DEATH IS DISHEARTENING. I WANTED TO CRY WATCHING THE WAIT FOR HIS PHONE CALL. I DIDN'T KNOW HIM BUT I DID SEE HIM NUMEROUS TIMES AS A SEASON TICKET FOR THE DODGERS---- HE, BANKS, WILLIAMS AND FERGIE WERE CLASS ACTS. CONGRATS RON --- WAY OVERDUE. PERHAPS FORMER PLAYERS THAT PLAYED WITH HIM OR HALL OF FAMERS SHOULD HAVE MORE INPUT INTO WHO BELONGS.
305 Days ago

DoctorCoach

Bill James puts Santo in the Top 100 players of all time. There are about 150 HOF players ranked behind him.
305 Days ago

SpartyOn675

Santo's induction a bittersweet moment for Baseball's Hall of Fame: http://midwaymadness.com/2012/07/santo-finally-earns-his-place-in-hof/
305 Days ago

hcitydave13

There are only 10 other third basemen (the least of ANY position) in the Hall of Fame besides Ron Santo. Santo's rank among the 11 Hall of Fame third basemen is as follows: Games played - 2243 (6th), Hits - 2254 (6th), Runs - 1138 (7th), Doubles - 365 (7th), Triples - 67 (8th), HR - 342 (3rd), RBI - 1331 (5th), Batting Average - .277 (8th), BB - 1108 (4th), OBP - .362 (6th), SLG - .464 (4th). When your numbers compare favorably with the best of the best, YOU BELONG WITH THE BEST OF THE BEST!!
305 Days ago

ckrusey

Well done, thanks for the stats.
305 Days ago

smarsh1963

Santo was a good player and had very decent numbers but I just don't believe he belongs in the HOF.
305 Days ago

chchof230990519

Smarsh it just shows you don't understand baseball
304 Days ago

basmith092000

I think you should look at his stats again. They are MUCH better than "very decent." From 1963-1967 his WAR was 6.2, 8.6, 7.3, 8.7, and 9.6. That last number (9.6), Alex Rodriguez has only had one season during his career where he was higher than that!! And he was juicing! During those same 5 seasons, his AVERAGE OPS was over .900! In other words, he was an MVP caliber player for 5 consecutive years (6 or 7 if you go further out). He was Top 10 in the NL in RBI for 8 consecutive seasons. The guy was a stud, and he played with Diabetes before it was easily managed. He also played in no fewer than 154 games each season for 10 consecutive years. Awesome player!
305 Days ago

ironmandan363

Ron Santo got in the hall because of his many accomplishments. I would challenge anyone to find 5 better third baseman in history. He was a great hitter in a Pitcher's era.I also saw him make many terrific plays at third.
306 Days ago

tonybell7

Brett, Kell, Robinson, Mathews, Schmidt......and I stopped at five
304 Days ago

ImSmartherThanYou

Kell????? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And Robinson wasn't better either. Better fielder, but far inferior as a hitter. Robinson was an incredibly inconsistent hitter. His one weakness.
303 Days ago

littlemc6969

I am not saying he shouldn't get in, but i feel he got in because he died and not for the right reasons like it was a sympathy thing. I am happy he is in but this was supposed to be Ron's day and this was supposed to happen years ago. I hope that Joe Morgan and the rest of the people that dont have a clue that are voting on HOF eligible players take a lesson in this. Your massive egos took the joy of this day from the one man who was supposed to feel it. I hope you guys feel good about yourselves Get off your high Horses and get the crap out of your eyes.
306 Days ago

ab180202

Crweste... Thanks for coming to this page and just spewing hate. It must suck to have such a pathetic life and have to act this way to feel better about yourself.
306 Days ago