I suppose I can see how some people didn’t like Ron’s style of broadcasting. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, though! When WGN played clips during a day-long tribute, I recognized every single one of them and could transport myself back to when I first heard it and remember what I was doing.

The “hairpiece” conversation? Loved it! Or when he was yelling at fans to “sit down, please!” He was an emotional guy, but that’s why I loved him. I am an emotional Cub fan, and I never felt like I missed anything by having Ron’s emotional outbursts pouring out my speakers.

Baseball is more than just a sport; more than just a calculated game involving athletes and rules and skills. Sports are a mode of human expression, and Ron was a model of living a life dedicated to helping others and following your passion.

Obstacles? You bet- and more than most, too. Charity? Did you know he has helped raise over 40 million dollars for diabetes research? He was close to his family, close to his friends, and I haven’t even gotten into his stellar career as a player.

I respect a person’s right to have an opinion on things, and even to use their own opinions and attitudes to shape an article. I’m likely to do the same myself! I won’t critique or harass you for your article- which I disagree with- but I would like to mention just one thing that I think bears correcting.

Pat Hughes, as you said, is an absolutely marvelous broadcaster. In fact, he’s my favorite (I made a Cubs jersey with “Hughes” on the back and ’720′ for the number, since he never gets enough credit for his work!).

But to call Pat a “babysitter” for Ron is to completely misunderstand the nature of the Pat/Ron relationship. Pat was never disparaging, never disrespectful, and never once in all their years together did he show anything that could be considered scornful or pitying.

Yes, this is partly because Pat is a professional. But mostly- and this is the point I want to make- Pat had a profound respect and admiration for Ron. He truly valued Ron’s contributions to the booth, and his affection and appreciation for Ron’s work were evident in every broadcast they did together.

The idea that Pat deserved better or that Ron was somehow a burden to him is profoundly mistaken. The camaraderie, the fun, and the respect that these men had for each other in the booth was an inspiration to all of us. Playing on each others strengths and personality, they created one of the most entertaining and enjoyable broadcast experiences in history.

Ron leaves a void larger than any person could hope to fill. Cub fans everywhere will have to contend with a future devoid of any of the gaffes and outbursts that you mentioned in this article.

While there are those out there- like yourself- who I’m sure respect Ron and mourn his passing but aren’t sorry to see him out of the booth, I know that there is no price I wouldn’t pay next season and all the seasons after to hear just one more “Aww geez!” or “What’s going ON!?” from one of my personal heroes, Ron Santo.

I sat through 1969, in Wrigley Field, to the tune of 63 games as a kid who could hop on the train with friends and go to THE Ballpark.

Before running into this ridiculous post I was telling someone how players today always need a day off. Bunk! If the 1969 Cubs, including Ron Santo with diabetes, got a few days off they would have made it to the World Series promised land. (IMHO)

Day baseball, a very hot summer, switching to night games on the road and no game days off. By August the Cub players, especially catcher Randy Hundley, were dragging themselves to the plate and onto the field.

They were physically beaten. To take time to write such a negative piece about Santo and deny his numbers is to demonstrate first-class ignorance. Numbers don’t lie and this movie has been played over and over again.

Ron #10 Santo deserves to be in baseball’s Hall of Fame based on numbers, not personality, not his radio announcing, not because of his son’s movie but only because he produced as an individual ballplayer the way much lessor players in the HOF did not.

On a team sport why should making the HOF depend on championships when your statistics put you with the top at your position and amongst other players at other positions?

It’s about individual accomplishments, not championships, not how well you do in the radio booth.

So Mike D. take your pathetic bitching about Ron Santo and jump off the Sears Tower or drown yourself far out into Lake Michigan.

If your so smart why can’t you find the dial on the radio to turn it off?