12/4 Cubs to know Monday re: Santo & Hall

The Cubs are hoping for good news Monday at the Winter Meetings when they find out if Ron Santo made it into the Hall of Fame. The 16-member revamped Veterans Committee cast its votes on Sunday in Dallas. Santo, who died one year ago Saturday, is one of the candidates on a Veterans’ Committee ballot representing the Golden Era of the sport from 1947-72. Santo’s competition includes former players Gil Hodges, Ken Boyer, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Allie Reynolds, Luis Tiant, and executives Charlie Finley and Buzzie Bavasi.

Santo failed to make the Hall of Fame in his 15 years of eligibity on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot and also in numerous forms of the Veterans Committee. He missed by nine votes in a 2008 ballot of a post 1943 committee, and his highest vote total on the BBWAA ballot was 43.1 percent in 1998.

Hall of Famer Billy Williams, Santo’s former teammate, is on the Golden Era Committee, along with Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Ralph Kiner, Tommy Lasorda, Juan Marichal, Brooks Robinson, Don Sutton. Major League executives Paul Beeston, Bill DeWitt, Roland Hemond, Gene Michael and Al Rosen, and veteran media members Dick Kaegel, Jack O’Connell and Dave Van Dyck also are on the committee. A 75 percent vote is needed, which, in this instance, would be 12 votes.

– Carrie Muskat