Santo's widow delivers at inductions

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July 23, 2012

Santo's widow delivers at inductions

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Mon Jul 23, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

COOPERSTOWN _ Some suggestions for the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

"¢ Please stop scheduling your main events opposite of major golf tournaments. I missed the final round of the U.S. Open because of our coverage of the Hall of Fame Classic and had to read about Adam Scott's collapse Sunday in the British Open because of the Induction Ceremony. Golf has become my favorite television sport, so this is getting tiresome. The fact that next year's Induction Ceremony is July 28 _ a week after the British Open _ makes me happy.

"¢ Someone please put a blown up picture of me in Hall spokesman Craig Muder's office. I've probably met him 10-15 times, but Sunday _ much like the 9-14 times before _ when I asked him for an attendance figure, he appeared to have no idea who I was. I'm not saying Muder did anything wrong. Heck, if I didn't have to be around myself all the time, I'd probably forget me, too.

"¢ Finally _ with this being the only semi-serious suggestion _ stop allowing Hall of Famers to give their acceptance speeches.

Vicki Santo stole the show during this steamy Sunday at the Clark Sports Center.

Before the Golden Era Committee selected Ron Santo for election into the Hall, I had one lasting image of the former Chicago Cubs third baseman. If you were a Mets fan in the late-1970s and early-80s and there was a rain delay you could almost guarantee that highlights of New York's 1969 World Series season would air until the game resumed.

During those highlights, the scene of a black cat running past Santo in the on-deck circle during a Sept. 9 game that season was shown. I probably saw it 20 times during a 5-year period.

To me _ I was a young kid at the time _ Santo was the black-cat guy.

Vicki Santo revealed so much more about her late husband. I'm guessing the announced and estimated 18,000 fans in attendance learned more about Ron from Vicki than they would have from Ron.

She described a guy who hid his diabetes from teammates for 10 years, a guy who nearly passed a teammate on the basepaths after hitting a grand slam because his sugar was low and he needed to get back into the dugout to eat a candy bar, a guy who told a nurse that his second leg amputation, in 2002, came at a perfect time because he'd be ready in time to return to the Cubs' broadcast booth, and a guy who continued to broadcast games over the final 10 years of his life despite many challenges.

"The last few years of his life," Vicki said of her husband, who died at the age of 70 on Dec. 3, 2010 of bladder cancer, "he had so many things wrong with him and so many different needs that every single thing that we take for granted, taking a shower or making a sandwich, required a lot of different moving parts, but he did not complain and he did not want sympathy. He believed he'd been chosen to go through these things so that he could deliver a message of perseverance, to inspire those with problems of all types and above all, he felt it was his job to try to find a cure for juvenile diabetes."

She also said Ron helped raise more than $65 million for juvenile diabetes.

The stories Vicki told were compelling and emotional.

It's clear the Hall has a pecking order for its induction speeches. The player with the best credentials goes last.

Barry Larkin went last Sunday, but he had unenviable task of following Vicki Santo.

Other than a helicopter that made an untimely landing at the Clark Sports Center at the beginning of Larkin's presentation, his speech was fine.

But I've heard Larkin's speech before. It sounded like so many speeches Hall of Famers have given in past years. He thanked all of those who helped him achieve greatness on the baseball field and told some stories.

It lacked the passion of Vicki's message.

Larkin sounded impressed by Vicki's performance.

"Everyone has their own story," Larkin said during a post-Induction media gathering. "Everyone has their own network and everyone has their own passion, their own problems to deal with. We're all out there trying to win the game and get the 27 outs. We're all out there fighting our own individual battles. To hear (Santo's) story and how he was able to get it done on the field and understand the things he went through is incredibly remarkable and I told Vicki it's an incredibly inspiring story. I thought she told the story very well."

I agree.

So next year and the years that follow, allow Hall of Famers to simply bask in the glow while their spouses or family members or former teammates tell their stories.

Of utmost importance, though, is to make sure future induction ceremonies don't coincide with the British Open.

Rob Centorani is a sports writer for The Daily Star. Email him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.