OK, full disclosure: Mr. Rocco “Rocky” Colavito is my favorite baseball player of all time. Also, I have all the respect in the world for former Chicago Cub Ron Santo, a great ballplayer and a great human being, and I was saddened to hear of his recent passing.
Santo was no doubt an excellent baseball player…good enough for Cooperstown? Well, the Veteran’s Committee thought so, and that is good enough for me. Anything to do with his recent passing? I am sure it did, but again, he was chosen for the Hall fair and square by a crew of vets—good enough for me.
Did it have anything to do with the fact that he spent (virtually) his entire 15-year career in Chicago with the Cubs? I would say it absolutely did. Colavito belonged to six ball clubs during his 14-year career (eight with Cleveland), did this have an effect? Perhaps. Did they put up very similar numbers during their careers? That answer is yes.
Again and can’t stress this enough, no animosity at the selection at all; in fact, I believed Santo to be vindicated by it. But the point is this: If Santo gets in, what about Rocky?
Largely forgotten by most except die-hard Indians fans, did the fact that Santo played for a certainly more popular team earn his entrance in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Particularly today, when, despite having below-average teams, the Cubs still dominate headlines? I am not a Cubs hater, but baseball is a numbers game…let’s look at these numbers, shall we?