Hall of Shame

In all seriousness who does Santo have to blow to get a fair shake? I didn’t see Santo play so I can only go on numbers. If you look at those numbers Santo should be enshrined in Cooperstown. Let’s take a closer look.

For eight season from 1963 to 1970 there was no better third baseman in the game and that includes Brooks Robinson who is already enshrined. In those eight years Santo drove in over 94 runs every year. He also hit over 25 homers every one of those seasons. He had one bad year average wise in that span (in 1968 the year of the pitcher) but other then that he was steadily in the .280 to .300 range. He was so good he received MVP votes each season from 63 to 69.

Defensively he was outstanding as well. He won the gold glove every year from 64 to 68. If that is not enough for you the guy was in the top ten in OBP in seven seasons. His OPS was in the top ten five times. For his career he finished with a .362 on base percentage. His career OPS was .826. For comparison the great Robinson finished with an OPS of .723. Santo is a full 100 points higher. Let’s also not forget that Santo did all this fighting diabetes and playing in one of the best times for pitching ever.

Santo gets overlooked to me for two reasons. One he was overshadowed by Banks, Williams and Jenkins who are all in the Hall. Second is the perceived notion that he never hit in the clutch. If you look at his stats over his career his numbers are almost identical in any situation. Baseball Reference is a great website. They came up with a statistic called, late and close. In those situations for his career he hit .281 with 64 homers. He was a .277 hitter for his career. So, he actually hit a little better with the pressure on.

It seems the new system that the Hall of Fame has come up with is flawed. I agree the Veterans Committee was letting in too many fringe players. I mean Phil Rizzuto and Bill Mazeroski did not deserve to be enshrined. However, they have over-corrected and since the current system has been enacted not one player has been elected by the veterans committee.

It is a shame that Santo gets overlooked. I admit I am biased when it comes to Santo as he is a member of the Cubs family. But, I try to be fair. I don’t think Mark Grace should be enshrined under any circumstances. Santo was a Hall of Famer based on the numbers he put up during his career. Especially when you compare them to a player like Brooks Robinson. It is unfair what they have done to poor Ronnie. I guess they will never let him in.