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.
"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 SantoRon Santo Autograph on a 1990 Pacific Legends Baseball Card (#48 | Checklist) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ron SantoRon Santo Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Ron SantoRon Santo Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
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 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
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 SantoRon Santo Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
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 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
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 SantoRon Santo Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
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 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
15 Years | 35 | 41 | .461 | 25 | 0 | 47 | 23.8 | 6.1 | 6.1 | - | - | - |
Ron SantoRon Santo Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
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 | - | - |
Ron Santo Stats by Baseball Almanac |
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 | 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 | 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 | 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.