Is this the year for Santo?

With all the brouhaha at Wrigley Field over the Cubs’ new management, it snuck up on many fans that Ron Santo is once again up for consideration for the Baseball Hall of Fame, selected by the infamous Veterans Committee. With the triennial process this year set to elect players and other figures from baseball’s so-called Golden Era (1947-’72) Santo was put on the ballot last week along with nine others. While there are some ringers (Charlie Finley has even less chance of being elected than union leader Marvin Miller in the annual category for baseball execs), it’s a competitive field. Gil Hodges has long been championed by the New York media, both as manager of the 1969 Miracle Mets and for his stellar playing career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Former Twins Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat will have their defenders. Yet Santo has been widely considered the best player not in the Hall of Fame for years, at least since Bill James gave him that honor in his Cooperstown book Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?. Rob Neyer expressed the same just this year after the unveiling of the Santo statue at Wrigley.