Ron Santo

Over the PA last night, in the middle of the game, quite unexpectedly, the Cubs announced that they will retire Ron Santo's #10 on Sunday, September 28, the last regular season home game.

This is long overdue, and I only wish it had coincided with the year that Ron was inducted into the Hall of Fame -- we have uninformed voters on the HoF's Veterans Committee to blame for that.

The timing is interesting too, coming in the middle of this tough pennant race. I worry that it's timed because Ron is having health problems that haven't been revealed. I sure hope that's not the case.

Since the end of the 1973 season, when Santo was traded to the White Sox, the following Cubs have worn #10:

Billy Grabarkewitz, Mike Sember, Dave Kingman, Leon Durham, Lloyd McClendon, Luis Salazar, Steve Lake, Scott Bullett, Terrell Lowery, and last year's interim manager, Bruce Kimm, who actually asked Santo his permission to wear the number.

Credit where credit is due: the information above comes from Kasey Ignarski's all-time Cub uniform number page, a fascinating list that's worth perusing if only to remember some of the really bad players who have been Cubs over the years.

Fergie Jenkins, who went into the HoF as a Cub, ought to have his #31 retired next. I would imagine Ryne Sandberg's #23 will be retired once he is inducted.