Taking time at SoxFest to remember Mr. Cub
Steve Stone first got to know Ernie Banks when he was pitching for the Cubs from 1974-76. And he became even closer with the iconic Hall of Famer during a 20-year run as a Cubs broadcaster.
So Stone, now in the White Sox' TV booth, obviously was dismayed after learning Banks passed away Friday night at 83.
"I don't believe you're going to remember the home runs. I think he hit 512 of them," Stone said, with statistical accuracy. "You're not going to remember the fact that he was a Hall of Famer because that was obvious to anybody who watched him play.
"I think what everybody is going to remember about Ernie was the enthusiasm he brought to each and every day. The positive attitude that he always had and the lesson in life he taught anybody who cared to listen to him, which was you don't have last season, you don't have last week, you don't have yesterday, you have to look ahead and see what tomorrow brings and tomorrow is going to be a great day."
Every day seemed to be great for Banks, who spent his entire 19-year playing career with the Cubs.
"When you talk about Ernie, you have to smile," Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. "He was always in a great mood. I never heard him complain about anything. He was always upbeat. He always had a wisecrack. I know he was Mr. Cub, but he was really Mr. Baseball. He was really a great, great ambassador for the game.
"I'm sure he had troubles because everybody has troubles, but you never knew. He was friendly to everybody. If he didn't know you, he pretended he knew you. Just all good; he was all good. It's really sad, but we all go some time. Too bad we couldn't have gotten another few years."
Banks was a fixture at Wrigley Field on the North Side. Minnie Minoso fills a similar role on the South Side, and the White Sox legend was mourning his friend at SoxFest.
"The city belonged to him," Minoso said. "Everywhere you move, they don't just talk about him like a ballplayer. They talk about him like a person. That's the more important thing.
"I don't think I'll be able to explain to you what I think about him. I don't have the words to put together to express what I feel about him.
"He was a great, great guy, and everybody loved him. We used to work together and make appearances together in different places. He was a good man."
Hearing the outpouring of reaction Friday night and throughout Saturday, it's easier to understand why Banks was so popular.
"It's so rare in this game where you have someone who, No. 1, seems to make friends as easy as Ernie made them," Stone said. "Two, you never have anybody saying a bad word about him. I've known Ernie for a long time, since the mid '70s when I put on a Cubs uniform and had a lot of interaction with him. But I've never heard anybody say, 'I don't like Ernie Banks.'
"It's like saying you don't like Santa Claus. How can you not like Ernie Banks? He was one of the most lovable human beings that our game has ever produced, and he never lost that childlike enthusiasm that we see from the youngsters but we tend to lose as adults.
"Ernie never lost that. He never lost his ability to see the bright side of whatever situation came along, whatever life handed him. He's a guy that will be missed."
sgregor@dailyherald.com