Cub Tracks remembers a ‘10’

A sad day in Cubs history as it marks the anniversary of the passing of No. 10, one of my childhood heroes. OTOH, Tony Campana and his wife have welcomed in new life.

The last thing I want is to die and then be put into the Hall of Fame. It's not because I won't be there to enjoy it, exactly. It's because I want to enjoy it with family and friends and fans. I want to see them enjoy it. — RS

this is why I give the hall the bird.

Last time at the depot, Cub Tracks abhorred a vacuum, especially the one between my ears. Today, we abhor a different vacuum, the one on the field, in the radiowaves, and in our hearts, for Ron Santo isn’t around any more.

“I'm a Cubbie. I'll always be a Cubbie.” — Ron Santo

I’m Type II diabetic. My sister is Type 1. So I’ve been aware since I was very young of the kind of difficulties diabetes can pose in daily life. I bet some of you are diabetic, too. It isn’t a death sentence but you have to treat it seriously.

Besides all that, we have the Cubs news of the day — as always * means autoplay on™ (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Today in baseball history:

• 1926 - In a Chicago Tribune article detailing the business side of the team, the Cubs casually reveal Weeghman Park will now be known as Wrigley Field, reflecting the ownership of the club by William Wrigley, Jr. The north side ballpark was originally named after the previous owner of team, Charles H. Weeghman, who had built the steel-and-concrete ballpark for the Chicago Whales, but moved the Cubs to the new venue after the two teams were merged under his ownership when the Federal League team folded.
• 1962 - On behalf of 300 retired major leaguers who had not been included in this year's increases, former Yankees shortstop Frank Crosetti and reserve catcher John Schulte, who played with five teams in his brief career, bring suit to prevent any increase in pension benefits that fails to include players from the past. J. Norman Lewis, their attorney, has indicated that many former stars have also contributed their names and/or money to support the action.
• 1968 - After the dominance of pitching last season, the major leagues adopt a series of rule changes with the hope of increasing the offensive output by the clubs. The MLB Rules Committee changes, which include decreasing the size of the strike zone and lowering the height of the pitcher's mound from 15 inches to 10 inches, will result in more run-scoring in both leagues during the upcoming campaign.
• 1971 - The Cubs trade 25-year-old righthander Jim Colborn, along with Brock Davis and Earl Stephenson, to the Brewers for outfielder Jose Cardenal. Chicago's newest outfielder will have a productive stay in the Windy City, batting .296 during his six-year tenure with the team.
• 2008 - After being declined salary arbitration by the Cubs earlier in the week, Bobby Howry agrees to a $2.75M, one-year deal with the Giants.
• 2009 - The A's trade right-handed pitcher Jeff Gray and minor league prospects Matt Spencer and Ronny Morla to the Cubs in exchange for infielders Jake Fox and Aaron Miles, along with cash considerations.
• 2010 - Former major league third baseman Ron Santo dies in an Arizona hospital from complications of bladder cancer and diabetes. The 70-year-old, considered one of the best players in Cubs history, rejoined the team in 1990 as the team's WGN radio announcer, enamoring his listeners with his devotion to the lovable losers and gaining their admiration for his continued failure to gain induction into the Hall of Fame, an honor he will receive posthumously in 2012.
• Happy birthday, Damon Berryhill.

Cubs news and notes:

“I'm a Cub fan, and I sit up here and I know when we have a good team, I know when we're struggling, and it affects me just like any other fan, and I just happen to show it on the radio. I can't help it.” — RS

• Bill Francis (National Baseball Hall of Fame): Ken Hubbs’ future alive in Cooperstown. Bittersweet, especially considering No. 10’s demise.
• CBS Chicago Sports: Joe Maddon on two-way players like Shohei Ohtani: ‘Wave of the future’. “I’ve always been intrigued by the concept,” Maddon said. He also says “Jake Arrieta’s probably gone,” in an interview on the Score (audio included).
• Jon Heyman (FanRag Sports): Cubs weighing options on pitching market. “One Cubs person was overheard to say on their way to a meeting on a pitcher, “Time to overspend on a pitcher.””
• Bruce Levine (CBS Chicago Sports*): Alex Cobb still the big fish Cubs hope to reel in. “The target for Cobb appears to be in the range of a four-year deal worth around $50 million.”
• Jared Wyllys (Cubs Den): Beginning to make sense of the 2018 bullpen. “...the crux of their shortcomings is still two things: throwing more strikes and finding someone to close games.”
• Eric Longenhagen (Fangraphs): Top 22 prospects: Chicago Cubs. Probably familiar by now but here it is.
• Todd Johnson (Cubs Insider): Cubs system position-by-position: First base lacks star power. A look at the minor-league first sackers.
• Anna Gaca (Spin): Pearl Jam love the Cubs so much they made an 8-Bit baseball game. Let’s play two-bit!

Food for thought:

• Sarah Marsh (The Guardian): Doctors 'wrong to assume type 1 diabetes is childhood illness'. (Nearly 50% of cases occur in adulthood, but many doctors assume adults with diabetes symptoms have type 2, leading to potentially dangerous misdiagnosis.)
• Jonathon Saltzman (The Boston Globe {$}): Semma Therapeutics raises $114m for novel diabetes treatment. “Semma Therapeutics wants to develop a treatment for diabetes that would eliminate the need for insulin injections.”
• Sarah Buhr (TechCrunch): Fractyl Labs raises $44 million in Series D to develop a treatment for type 2 diabetes. “Fractyl has been working on a procedure to potentially delay the need for insulin injections in patients with type 2 diabetes...”