Ron Santo Stats

Ron Santo was born on Sunday, February 25, 1940, in Seattle, Washington. Santo was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 26, 1960, with the Chicago Cubs. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Ron Santo baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Very few players are as closely connected with a franchise as Ron Santo is with the Chicago Cubs. His extraordinary playing career, his rabid following as a broadcaster and his many charitable endeavors for the Chicagoland area—where he has made his home for nearly 30 years—makes his contributions to this franchise special and unique." - MacPhail, Andy. Chicago Cubs President. Muskat, Carrie. Cubs to Retire Santo's No. 10. 15 September 2003.)

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Autograph on a 1990 Pacific Legends Baseball Card (#48 | <a href='../baseball_cards/baseball_cards_oneset.php?s=1990pac02' title='1990 Pacific Legends Baseball Card Checklist'>Checklist</a>)

Ron Santo Autograph on a 1990 Pacific Legends Baseball Card (#48 | Checklist)

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Birth Name:   Ronald Edward Santo
Nickname:   Pizza or Ron
Born On:   02-25-1940  (Pisces)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Seattle, Washington
Year of Death Data Died On:   12-03-2010 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Scottsdale, Arizona
Cemetery:   Cremated (Ashes Scattered at Wrigley Field)
High School:   Franklin High School (Seattle, WA)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-00   Player Weight Chart Weight:   190
First Game:   06-26-1960 (Age 20)
Last Game:   09-29-1974
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $20,000

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Hitting Stats

1960 20 Cubs 95 347 44 87 24 2 9 1 44 31 5 44 2 2 0 9 .251 .311 .409
1961 21 Cubs 154 578 84 164 32 6 23 0 83 73 7 77 1 3 0 25 .284 .362 .479
1962 22 Cubs 162 604 44 137 20 4 17 0 83 65 5 94 3 5 2 17 .227 .302 .358
1963 23 Cubs 162 630 79 187 29 6 25 1 99 42 7 92 0 11 4 17 .297 .339 .481
1964 24 Cubs 161 592 94 185 33 13 30 0 114 86 5 96 0 6 2 11 .313 .398 .564
1965 25 Cubs 164 608 88 173 30 4 33 0 101 88 7 109 0 3 5 12 .285 .378 .510
1966 26 Cubs 155 561 93 175 21 8 30 0 94 95 7 78 2 8 6 16 .312 .412 .538
1967 27 Cubs 161 586 107 176 23 4 31 0 98 96 9 103 0 12 3 17 .300 .395 .512
1968 28 Cubs 162 577 86 142 17 3 26 1 98 96 7 106 1 5 3 18 .246 .354 .421
1969 29 Cubs 160 575 97 166 18 4 29 0 123 96 7 97 0 14 2 21 .289 .384 .485
1970 30 Cubs 154 555 83 148 30 4 26 2 114 92 6 108 1 6 1 17 .267 .369 .476
1971 31 Cubs 154 555 77 148 22 1 21 0 88 79 8 95 1 7 0 20 .267 .354 .423
1972 32 Cubs 133 464 68 140 25 5 17 0 74 69 5 75 2 8 4 13 .302 .391 .487
1973 33 Cubs 149 536 65 143 29 2 20 0 77 63 8 97 0 1 4 27 .267 .348 .440
1974 34 White Sox 117 375 29 83 12 1 5 1 41 37 1 72 0 3 2 16 .221 .293 .299
15 Years 2,243 8,143 1,138 2,254 365 67 342 6 1,331 1,108 94 1,343 13 94 38 256 .277 .362 .464

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Fielding Stats

1960 Cubs 3B 94 94 2,508 235 2.5 222 78 144 13 6 n/a n/a n/a .945 2.39
1961 Cubs 3B 153 152 339 495 3.2 464 157 307 31 41 n/a n/a n/a .937 36.96
1962 Cubs 3B 157 156 4,116 516 3.3 493 161 332 23 33 n/a n/a n/a .955 3.23
1962 Cubs SS 8 3 117 18 2.3 17 6 11 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .944 3.92
1963 Cubs 3B 162 162 486 536 3.3 510 136 374 26 25 n/a n/a n/a .951 28.33
1964 Cubs 3B 161 161 4,266 543 3.4 523 156 367 20 31 n/a n/a n/a .963 3.31
1965 Cubs 3B 164 164 492 552 3.4 528 155 373 24 27 n/a n/a n/a .957 28.98
1966 Cubs 3B 152 151 432 566 3.7 541 150 391 25 36 n/a n/a n/a .956 33.81
1966 Cubs SS 8 4 111 25 3.1 24 7 17 1 5 n/a n/a n/a .960 5.84
1967 Cubs 3B 161 161 474 606 3.8 580 187 393 26 33 n/a n/a n/a .957 33.04
1968 Cubs 3B 162 162 483 523 3.2 508 130 378 15 33 n/a n/a n/a .971 28.40
1969 Cubs 3B 160 159 1,713 505 3.2 478 144 334 27 23 n/a n/a n/a .947 7.53
1970 Cubs 3B 152 151 3,963 490 3.2 463 143 320 27 36 n/a n/a n/a .945 3.15
1970 Cubs LF 1 1 21 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.29
1971 Cubs 3B 149 147 3,882 409 2.7 392 118 274 17 29 n/a n/a n/a .958 2.73
1971 Cubs LF 6 6 159 12 2.0 11 10 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .917 1.87
1972 Cubs 2B 3 2 63 18 6.0 17 9 8 1 4 n/a n/a n/a .944 7.29
1972 Cubs 3B 129 128 3,348 403 3.1 382 108 274 21 19 n/a n/a n/a .948 3.08
1972 Cubs LF 1 1 27 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.00
1972 Cubs SS 1 0 6 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 4.50
1973 Cubs 3B 146 146 3,825 398 2.7 378 107 271 20 17 n/a n/a n/a .950 2.67
1974 White Sox 1B 3 2 30 13 4.3 13 13 0 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 11.70
1974 White Sox 2B 39 37 993 202 5.2 196 97 99 6 40 n/a n/a n/a .970 5.33
1974 White Sox 3B 28 22 627 76 2.7 74 25 49 2 6 n/a n/a n/a .974 3.19
1974 White Sox SS 1 0 3 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a .000 0.00
3B Totals 2,130 2,116 30,954 6,853 3.2 6,536 1,955 4,581 317 395 n/a n/a n/a .954 5.70
2B Totals 42 39 1,056 220 5.2 213 106 107 7 44 n/a n/a n/a .968 5.45
SS Totals 18 7 237 44 2.4 42 14 28 2 7 n/a n/a n/a .955 4.78
LF Totals 8 8 207 14 1.8 13 12 1 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .929 1.70
1B Totals 3 2 30 13 4.3 13 13 0 0 3 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 11.70
15 Years 2,201 2,172 32,484 7,144 3.2 6,817 2,100 4,717 327 449 n/a n/a n/a .954 5.67

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Miscellaneous Stats

1960 Cubs 0 3 .000 1 0 n/a 38.6 7.9 7.9 - - -
1961 Cubs 2 3 .400 1 0 n/a 25.1 7.5 7.0 - - -
1962 Cubs 4 1 .800 2 0 n/a 35.5 6.4 7.3 - - -
1963 Cubs 6 4 .600 0 0 n/a 25.2 6.8 6.4 - - -
1964 Cubs 3 4 .429 0 0 n/a 19.7 6.2 5.2 - - -
1965 Cubs 3 1 .750 0 0 n/a 18.4 5.6 6.0 - - -
1966 Cubs 4 5 .444 0 0 n/a 18.7 7.2 6.0 - - -
1967 Cubs 1 5 .167 0 0 n/a 18.9 5.7 6.0 - - -
1968 Cubs 3 4 .429 0 0 n/a 22.2 5.4 5.9 - - -
1969 Cubs 1 3 .250 1 0 n/a 19.8 5.9 4.7 - - -
1970 Cubs 2 0 1.000 2 0 n/a 21.3 5.1 4.9 - - -
1971 Cubs 4 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 26.4 5.8 6.3 - - -
1972 Cubs 1 4 .200 1 0 n/a 27.3 6.2 6.3 - - -
1973 Cubs 1 2 .333 3 0 n/a 26.8 5.5 7.0 - - -
1974 White Sox 0 2 .000 14 0 47 75.0 5.2 9.1 - - -
15 Years 35 41 .461 25 0 47 23.8 6.1 6.1 - - -

Ron Santo

Ron Santo Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1960 Chicago Cubs 15, 10 Undetermined - -
1961 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined - -
1962 Chicago Cubs 10 $22,500.00 - -
1963 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1964 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1965 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1966 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1967 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined - -
1968 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1969 Chicago Cubs 10 $85,000.00 Stats -
1970 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined - -
1971 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1972 Chicago Cubs 10 Undetermined Stats -
1973 Chicago Cubs 10 $110,000.00 Stats -
1974 Chicago White Sox 10 $115,000.00 - -

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Ronald Edward Santo was a Major League Baseball player with the Chicago Cubs (1960-1973) and Chicago White Sox (1974). Did you know Brooks Robinson once called Ron, his nickname, "one of the best of the best?" Pizza, another nickname, was one of the most beloved athletes in all of Chicago, and one hell of a third baseman:

Ron Santo Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Ron Santo Rookie Card | 1961 Topps Baseball Card (#35 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Born Ronald Edward Santo on February 25, 1940, a third baseman from 1960 to 1974, all but the last year with the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time National League (NL) All-Star, Santo led the league in bases on balls four times, in on-base percentage twice and in triples once. Santo batted .300 and hit 30 home runs four times each, and is the only third baseman in Major League history to post eight consecutive seasons with 90 runs batted in (RBI) (1963–1970). He was also just the second player at third base to hit 300 career home runs, joining Eddie Mathews, and also ended his career ranking second to Mathews among third basemen in slugging average (.464) and third in runs batted in (1,331), total bases (3,779) and walks (1,108).

Santo won five consecutive Gold Glove Awards for defensive fielding excellence at third base (1964–1968). He set or tied NL records by leading the league's third basemen in total chances eight times, in games played at third, putouts and assists seven times each, and in double plays six times; from 1966 to 1974 he held the NL record for assists in a single season. He also set NL records for career assists (4,532), total chances (6,777) and double plays (389) at third base, all of which were eventually broken by Mike Schmidt between 1986 and 1988; his NL total of 2,102 games at third base fell 52 short of Mathews' league record, and he then ranked sixth in NL history in putouts (1,930) and ninth in fielding percentage (.954).

Despite those credentials, when Santo first became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, he was named on less than four percent of all ballots cast by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), resulting in his removal from the ballot. He was one of several players re-added to the ballot in 1985 following widespread complaints about overlooked candidates, but still wasn't elected. The Veterans Committee then also chose not to elect him and a new 16-member Golden Era Committee was established in 2011. Santo received 15 of their 16 possible votes and was elected to the Hall of Fame on December 5, 2011. A few months earlier, on Wednesday, August 10, 2011, Ron Santo was memorialized and "immortalized" at Wrigley Field with the presentation of a statue in his likeness. The statue is a portrayal of a young Ron Santo playing defense at third base, leaning to his right while throwing a ball. Santo, however, passed away at 12:40 am on December 3, 2010, in a Scottsdale, Arizona hospital due to complications from bladder cancer and diabetes and never knew of these honors.

Ron Santo Hall of Fame Plaque

Ron Santo | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 2012 (HOF)

Chicago sportswriter Michael G. Glab (The Chicago Reader: The Slugger. 28 September 2000.) described Ron Santo with, "He had a reputation as the most emotional player in baseball. He'd bark at teammates, rail at opponents, rage at umpires. And when his team — if ever so briefly — was on top, he ran down the left field line after victories clicking his heels in glee." In 1973, Santo became the first player to invoke the ten-and-five rule under the collective bargaining agreement signed after the 1972 Major League Baseball strike (the rule allows players with 10 years' service, the last five with the same team, to decline any trade). Santo didn't want to play on the West Coast and vetoed the deal. Glab shared some intimate details of that historic event:

In 1973 the Cubs headed into the All-Star break with a comfortable East Division lead. Then they plummeted, finishing with a losing record as the Mets again won the pennant.

Holland and Wrigley decided to break up the team. "Holland called me," Santo says. "It was hard for him even to talk to me." The GM haltingly explained the new order to his aging star. "This is so difficult," Holland said. "We're going to clean house. It's hard to have to tell you. We've got a chance to pick up some left-handed pitchers for you."

Santo was quiet for a moment. "John," he finally responded, "are you asking me if I want to be traded?" (With his seniority, Santo had the right to veto a trade.)

"Well, Ron," Holland said, "we do have a deal pending for you. It's up to you. I was wondering if you'd want to go to the California Angels. They want to give you a three-year deal."

The Angels, then owned by Gene Autry, were known as a team that lavished money on its players. Autry was willing to pay Santo well over $100,000 a year for three years, a huge sum in those days. Santo, though, had already started a new career. In 1971 he'd taken a job as a salesman for Torco Oil, an outfit that barged crude oil up the Mississippi and sold it to Illinois steel mills. He'd eventually become a vice president in charge of the sales department.

"If I had to financially, I might have taken that deal," Santo says. "But I sure in the heck didn't want to move my family to California for the season."

Santo told Holland, "John, I'm not going to accept the trade. I don't care what they're offering."

"You don't know how tough this is for me," Holland said. "We've been together for 15 years. But we're going to make some moves, so why don't you start thinking about where you'd like to go."

"I was hoping I'd end my career here. I'd only planned to play two more years," Santo said. There was a pause. "I'll think about it," he said at last.

"I hung up the phone and I started to cry," Santo says now. "It was tough. Chicago was my life."

Ron Santo Batting Helmet

Ron Santo Batting Helmet | National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection

Ron Santo was one of the first (known / confirmed) ballplayers in Major League history to wear a batting helmet with protective ear flaps. During the 1966 regular season, in the midst of trying to break the Cubs' modern consecutive-game hitting streak record of 27-games (set by Hack Wilson in 1929), Santo was sidelined for nearly two weeks following a pitch thrown by the Mets' Jack Fisher (beaning) that fractured his cheekbone and ended his consecutive playing streak. When he returned (and broke the hitting record with a 28-game streak) he was wearing an improvised ear flap on his batting helmet in order to protect the injury; ear flaps have since become standard equipment on batting helmets.