Ronald Edward Santo:
Hall of Famer.
At last.
Sign of the times:
"Ron, you're finally home."
In great company:
In case you weren't sure of the gravity of the honor, watching the likes of Sandy Koufax, Frank Robinson and Willie Mays parade to their seats onstage before the ceremony certainly did the trick.
Perfect:
Beautiful weather, a sea of blue in attendance and family and former teammates like Billy, Fergie and Ernie on hand to watch as Santo's wife Vicki delivers a pitch-perfect, classy induction speech.
BTW:
It was hard not to smile a bit at the smattering of boos sent Joe Morgan's way, wasn't it?
Just imagine ...
I know it's great he's finally in, but think of how excited Ronnie would have been to be able to make his own acceptance speech.
But:
As Vicki reminded all of us: "This is not a sad day. This is a great day. Ronnie is celebrating with us right now."
That's who he was:
The hairpiece igniting at Shea, the Brant Brown bellow in Milwaukee … it wouldn't have been right if those weren't included in the celebration because that was the Ronnie we knew.
Amazing:
It's still a head shaker to realize Santo helped raise in excess of $65 million for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Just as amazing:
Was how well he played for so many seasons despite performing with diabetes.
"He never said, 'Why me?'" Vicki said. "He just moved on to the next challenge."
Sign of the times:
"Ron Santo lives on in our hearts."
What a run:
Husband, father, ballplayer, businessman, broadcaster, and now … Hall of Famer.
"He truly had a wonderful life," Vicki said in closing.
He truly did.
