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I'll miss Ron Santo.

Santo was the last of a breed, now also dead. The unprofessional, professional broadcaster. Santo would never be hired now. Broadcasters now, are like politicians, they are furnished with the information and they suavely and smoothly deliver with silver tongues.

Suave and smoothe was not in Santo's repertoire. He was a blue collar fan. A fan, more so than a broadcaster. An unabashed 'homer'.

But unlike others 'homers' in broadcasting, Santo did not need a signature call to set him apart from others. If Santo has any signature at all, it would probably be 'Aawwwwwww!' or "Oh no!!"



Like Johnny Carson after a bombed joke, it was more entertaining listening to Santo after a Cubs failure.



Santo suffered from diabetes and lost both legs as a result. But, he wouldn't want to be remembered for the courage in fighting the disease. He would just want to talk about what was on the field.



Santo was the best third baseman in his league during his generation. An All Star nine times. Still, his numbers did not qualify him for the Hall of Fame. The city of Chicago pushed for his induction, but in baseball, numbers speak louder than personality.

He was visibly disappointed at not joining the Hall. I got a sense that it wasn't a selfish ambition, rather, he just wanted to rejoin old teammates Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, and Fergie Jenkins on a team again.



Listening to Cub games won't be the same next year. Without him in the booth, the Cubs lose just a bit more of their 'lovable loser' persona.



During the 70 years of his life, the Cubs never won a World Series. Unlike all those different Cubs teams, half of which he played on and broadcasted for, Santo was not a 'lovable loser'.

Just, lovable.

Very Sad day in Cub's Land.

He was the ultimate homer announcer and that was just fine with me! I often listened to him in my car and when he would give one of his "Oh No"s when Big Z juiced the bases or gave up a home run, I would just laugh at the emotion he showed on the air.

There was never a question of who Ron was cheering for!

RIP Ron Santo

I hated reading as a kid...but I loved listening to the Cub's game. So mom buys me the Ron Santo biography. Solved my reading issue. I still to this day remember the theme. Ron Santo refuses to step to the side for a line drive, breaks his nose, plays the next day, again...and again...



I don't think they track heart as a statistic but...but Ron sure did have it.

And with that, Cub fans just lost the best reason to be a fan. No one understood more than Santo how it should be as a professional athlete. One of my all-time favorites.

Great article / commentary by Phil Rogers from the Chicago Tribune:



http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/20 ... santo.html

When I was growing up, Lou Boudreau (The Good Kid) and Vince Lloyd were the radio voices of the Cubs. The beginning of each broadcast would start with the playing of “It’s A Beautiful Day for a Ballgame” and then Vince Lloyd would say “The Chicago Cubs are on the air”.



But in the late 80’s the Tribune Company thought that the folksy talkin’ to your neighbor style of broadcasting was done and they let both Lloyd and Boudreau go. They brought in Dave Nelson to team with Dewayne Staats, a professional team for sure, but no life, no style…… they weren’t Cubs fans calling the game, they were broadcasters describing the action.



In 1990 the Cubs and the Tribune decided to make a change. That’s when they brought in Ron Santo and Thom Brennaman. They were an instant hit.



During Santo’s early days in the booth, Brennaman would do play-by-play for the first and last three innings of each game and Harry Carey would come over from the TV side and do the middle three. Even though it produced a couple of classic moments (Carey talking about Ron’s hair piece), Ron was at his best when he was being led. After the ’95 season, Thom Brennaman moved on and the Cubs hired Pat Hughes to be the full time radio play-by-play guy with Santo. It’s been radio magic ever since.



Hughes can wonderfully describe the game and what is happening on the field while at the same time having that “I’m just a fan” conversation with Santo. He knew how to draw the info out of Ron during a key game situation and he knew what to say to make Ron laugh during a blowout.



Listening to “The Pat and Ron Show” has been a pleasure the past 14 years. I’ve spent some of the best hours of my summers sitting on my patio listening to the Cubs and reading the paper while watching the kids swim in the pool. Real life won’t allow me to return to my youth of Lloyd and Boudreau, but for a couple of hours on summer afternoons, Hughes and Santo brought me close.



Santo will be missed.



R I P

As long as Hawk Harrelson is around, the unprofessional, professional broadcaster is alive and well.



I'm a huge Cubs fan, and I'll miss Ron Santo and his enthusiasm for the Cubs. But he was a brutal announcer. More of a mascot really.



Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

I'll miss Ron Santo.

Santo was the last of a breed, now also dead. The unprofessional, professional broadcaster. Santo would never be hired now. Broadcasters now, are like politicians, they are furnished with the information and they suavely and smoothly deliver with silver tongues.

Suave and smoothe was not in Santo's repertoire. He was a blue collar fan. A fan, more so than a broadcaster. An unabashed 'homer'.

But unlike others 'homers' in broadcasting, Santo did not need a signature call to set him apart from others. If Santo has any signature at all, it would probably be 'Aawwwwwww!' or "Oh no!!"



Like Johnny Carson after a bombed joke, it was more entertaining listening to Santo after a Cubs failure.



Santo suffered from diabetes and lost both legs as a result. But, he wouldn't want to be remembered for the courage in fighting the disease. He would just want to talk about what was on the field.



Santo was the best third baseman in his league during his generation. An All Star nine times. Still, his numbers did not qualify him for the Hall of Fame. The city of Chicago pushed for his induction, but in baseball, numbers speak louder than personality.

He was visibly disappointed at not joining the Hall. I got a sense that it wasn't a selfish ambition, rather, he just wanted to rejoin old teammates Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, and Fergie Jenkins on a team again.



Listening to Cub games won't be the same next year. Without him in the booth, the Cubs lose just a bit more of their 'lovable loser' persona.



During the 70 years of his life, the Cubs never won a World Series. Unlike all those different Cubs teams, half of which he played on and broadcasted for, Santo was not a 'lovable loser'.

Just, lovable.

The munster Addams family game is a classic.Santo watched a game like I do when my pitcher is in the game.O No,YES,O COME ON,It was like one of us Fantasy players miked for the game.