Been there. Done that. Santo defends Lee's choice

A popular member of the Chicago Cubs vetoed a trade to the Angels.

He invoked his 10-and-5 rights and cited family reasons.

Derrek Lee? Yep.

Ron Santo, too.

The story this week of first baseman Derrek Lee turning down a trade to the Los Angeles Angels brought back memories of Santo doing the same thing in December 1973.

At the time, the Cubs were beginning a rebuilding phase, and they sought to ship Santo to the then-California Angels for a pair of pitchers.

But Santo turned down the deal, becoming the first player to exercise the so-called 10-and-5 rights, which enable a player with at least 10 years of major-league service and the last five with the same team to veto any trade involving him. The right was won in the hard-fought 1972 collective-bargaining agreement.

"It was called the Santo clause," the former third baseman said from his home Thursday.

At the time, the 33-year-old Santo was coming off a 20-homer, 77-RBI season in '73 with the Cubs, his team for 14 years. Santo's children and off-season business interests were in Chicago, and he didn't want to leave.

A few days after Santo nixed the trade to the Angels, the Cubs dealt him to the White Sox, where he spent one unhappy season before retiring and walking away from one more year of guaranteed money.

"First of all, I didn't want to leave Chicago," he said of turning down the Angels deal. "I had a couple offers, and a big one from the Angels at that time. I just didn't want to go to California and move my kids or anything.

"Then, the White Sox got a hold of me, and that's when I decided, 'Well, OK.' I was ready to retire, but I thought I had another year or two in me. So I signed a two-year deal with the Sox (after being traded)."

Santo hit only .221 with 5 homers for the Sox in 1974 before retiring to a life of successful private business. He rejoined the Cubs in the radio booth in 1990.

"After the first year with the Sox, I realized I couldn't do what I used to do, and I gave them back the one year," he said. "I gave back money. I walked into (Sox owner) John Allyn's office, and I said, 'John, I'm retiring.' He said, 'Ron, you've got a two-year, no-cut contract. All you have do is put your uniform on. I said, 'No, John, I'm giving you (the money) back.'"

Santo added he has no regrets about not going to the Angels, even though things didn't go well on the South Side. He also said he does not begrudge Lee turning down a trade.

"I'm OK with it," Santo said. "It's up to Derrek, and Derrek's going to be a free agent, so he can decide where he wants to go if he doesn't stay here next year. Evidently, California wasn't a team he wanted to go to. He'd really like to stay here. But you know baseball. He's a free agent, and I'm sure there are going to be teams after him."

Santo also doesn't understand the negative backlash against Lee for not helping the Cubs to free up some money by going elsewhere.

"Free up some money?" Santo said. "He'd be going there, for what, a month and a half or two months? Then he becomes a free agent. He's not a bad guy at all. He's got the right. He's done a great job for the Cubs. He's been unbelievable.

"He's well liked. He's a beautiful person. He wants to play every day. He handles himself as well as anybody who's been around, and everybody loves him."