Ron Santo is absolutely one of the top ten third basemen of all time. I believe that it is a travesty that he fell to being elected posthumously. With each successive year of his being passed over, I could only cry out, '' OOOOhhhh NNNNoooo!!!! '' His lifetime stats are solid, but they are much more than that when compared to third basemen & when thought of in terms of the era in which he played. Ron Santo played in the era of the pitcher and yet he hit 342 home runs & had a .464 slugging percentage - 2nd only to Eddie Mathews among 3rd basemen to that point. Santo also was a 5 time Gold Glove winner & led in many lifetime NL third base defensive categories until Mike Schmidt eventually eclipsed them. His NL records included records for career assists, total chances, & putouts. These records & others lasted as well until Mike Schmidt, the greatest third baseman of all time, came on the scene. Ron Santo was the best of his time & one of the best ever. He wonderfully represented the game of baseball, both on the field & off. It was a pure pleasure to see him play. Kick up your heels one more time Ron ...

Side note: While I am a born & raised Cardinal fan, I love the game of baseball and I truly enjoyed this watching this great ballplayer play the game ...

Until next time, so long everybody ...

Lee [ Cowboy ]