Brant Brown remembers Santo's kindness
In nearly every story written since the passing of Ron Santo, the one name that invariably has been brought up is that of former Cubs outfielder Brant Brown.
It was Brown's dropped flyball in late September 1998 in Milwaukee in the heat of a pennant race that led to Santo's now famous, “Oh, noooo!” call, a call that has since been replayed a zillion times.
And one that Brown is very familiar with.
“He was an emotional guy; he was a baseball player who was broadcasting,” Brown said from the Dominican Republic, where he is helping instruct players in the Texas Rangers' farm system. “And when that happened it wasn't fun for anyone at all.
“His emotions, his love for the Cubs and what place we were at in the division at the time … I don't want to say it got the best of him, but he just let it out.”
For some, a call like that could have led to some bitter feelings between player and broadcaster.
Not the case for the laid-back Brown.
“You know what? I made the error,” Brown said. “I don't blame anyone. That's his job to broadcast and it's my job to play. I was never like ‘Ron Santo yelled at me like that.'
“He was one of the first guys on the plane to come back and tell me everything was going to be OK. I was sitting there next to Terry Adams and Kerry Wood with my head down and he was one of the first guys to come back and pat me on the back.”
Despite the spotlight brought on by Brown's gaffe and Santo's subsequent call, the relationship between the pair remained as strong as it was before that fateful day.
“Someone joked that they were going to bring me and him back at some point to throw out a first pitch together and I was like, ‘Yeah, all right, let's do it!'” Brown said with a laugh. “I wasn't like, ‘I don't want to do anything with that scoundrel.'
“He was always wonderful to me. We always talked.”
Brown just finished his first season as the hitting instructor for the Frisco Roughriders, the Rangers' Class AA affiliate who are managed by another former Cubs third baseman, Steve Buechele.
“He is a piece of work; we get along so well,” Brown said of Buechele. “Our personalities are so similar. Last year was my first year with him and I just had the best time.”
But it's the most beloved third baseman in Cubs history who has been on Brown's mind lately. And though he won't be able to make it to the services for Santo this week, Brown's heart will be with his old buddy.
“I've got nothing but warm feelings for Ron,” he said, “and I just hope the best for his loved ones and everyone hurt by his passing.
“He was always so kind.”