Ernie Banks, Ferguson Jenkins and Billy Williams expressed disappointment Monday that former Cubs teammate Ron Santo was once again denied admission to the Hall of Fame.
"I had already bought my ticket to Las Vegas," Banks said, explaining that he had planned to celebrate with Santo at Baseball's winter meetings. "It's a mystery why Ronnie is not in the Hall of Fame." Jenkins added: "I'm disappointed. He is third overall behind (Mike Schmidt) and Eddie Mathews as far as third basemen in that era. It's really too bad. I don't know why he can't get the votes.
"Ronnie was the captain when I got there in '66. And for years he played third base, even when he was hurt a lot of times. He got hit in the face one year. He still played and gave his all every day. He put up some big numbers."
Santo won five straight Gold Gloves, including three during Jenkins' first stint with the Cubs.
"Defense is always something pitchers rely on," Jenkins said, "and Ronnie was always there."
Williams and Santo played together in the minors and wound up playing more games together as teammates than any other players in major league history.
"This is disappointing to me and I know it's disappointing to Ronnie," Williams said. "But I've often said that because we weren't in the postseason and not on national television at the end of the year, it did not help. A lot people didn't know this guy was a great Baseball player."
fmitchell@tribune.com
