I’ve been in hibernation for the past couple of months, but this morning I awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, fruit cake, and an old leather baseball glove. I’ve slept well and I feel refreshed and invigorated. It’s time to rejoin the world in a meaningful and participatory way.

It seems that much has happened over my 10 week slumber and it may take me a few weeks to catch up on the news, however, the most recent of headlines has caught my eye and moves right to the top of the list.

Yesterday the Golden Era Committee of the National Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Ron Santo had received enough votes to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame next July. Santo received 94% (15 of 16) of the vote; he was the only candidate on the ballot to exceed the 75% threshold needed for election. There were others that I feel should have been elected like Jim Kaat and Minnie Minoso, but I’ll leave those arguments for another day, or better yet, visit the “Art of the Pale Hose” to read about Minoso. Art was involved in the campaign to get Minoso elected and can provide Minnie’s case more eloquently than I can. Today though is for Ron Santo.

Santo played his last game just over 37 years ago, since then it’s been a long uphill battle to the Hall of Fame. His first time on the writers’ ballot for HOF consideration was 1980. Ron only received 15 votes (3.9%); 23 other players (11 of whom are now HOF members) received more votes that year than Santo. By rule, Ron was dropped off the HOF ballot because he received less than the minimum 5% needed for retention. However in 1985 Ron Santo, Curt Flood and several other players that had been deemed overlooked during their original stay on the ballot were reinstated for a second chance. Over the next 14 years Santo received vote totals ranging from 13 to 43 percent, far short of the 75% needed for induction.

Then in 2003 Santo was placed on the newly reformed Veterans Committee ballot. With the backing of Bill James, who ranking Santo as the best eligible player not in the hall, as well as legions of Cubs fans and the SABRmetric crowd; it appeared as if Ron would finally make it into the Hall. Santo invited the media into his home while he waited for the call. Unfortunately the call he received was not what he and his fans had hoped for, Santo did not get in. Ron continued to wait for a call that he never received in 2005, ’07, and ’09.

In 2010 the Veterans Committee once again was reorganized. This time they would look at candidates by era. Last year they had 1973-present when they elected Pat Gillick. This year, the “Golden Era” was from 1947 through 1972. As we now know today, Ron Santo was finally elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame from that ballot. While it is a happy day for Santo’s family, friends, and fans; it’s bitter sweet knowing that it comes 1 year and 2 days too late for Ron.

Congratulations to Hall of Fame member Ron Santo.