On the blog today, my "missing" 1971 "Baseball's Greatest Moments" card for Chicago Cubs great Ron Santo, Hall of Fame third baseman:
Between 1964 and 1968 the man
reeled in five straight Gold Gloves for his great defensive work, while
also putting in stellar offensive seasons that saw him average 30 home
runs and 100 runs batted in.
By the time he hung up his spikes after the 1974 season, Santo established himself as one of the all-time greats at third base.
A wonderful 15 year career that saw him suit up for the Cubs for
all but his final season, Santo was about as solid as you could ever
want, especially during the modern "dead-ball" era of the mid-1960's
through the mid-1970's.
He walloped 342 lifetime homers, along with 1331 runs batted in, 1138 runs scored and a .277 batting average.
Four times he drove in more than 100 runs, with another four years
of 90+. As I stated earlier he he also hit 30+ homers four straight years, between 1964-1967,
as well as topping .300 four times.
A nine time all-star and five time Gold Glover, it's a shame it
took so long for him to be acknowledged as such, getting inducted into
the Hall of Fame in 2012, two years after he passed away.
If it wasn't for long time teammate Ernie Banks, we'd be calling Santo "Mr. Cub".
