Weekly Motivational Piece -- July 26, 2012

Greetings!



HERE IS THIS WEEK'S MOTIVATIONAL PIECE ... ENJOY!

With the induction of Ron Santo into the Baseball Hall of Fame over the weekend, I hope you will read this story from start-to-finish. If there ever was a true baseball hero, Ron Santo gets my vote! Read on…


Ron’s career started off just like yours. He had the same dreams … to be a big league ballplayer. Like you, he played high school ball. Grew up in Seattle. He was considered the best baseball prospect in the state of Washington. He was a picture of great health.


Upon signing his first professional baseball contract in 1959, he underwent a routine physical. As he was packing his gear to go play for the Cubs' minor league affiliate in San Antonio, TX, he was told by his doctor that he had Diabetes. Then, Santo said he “couldn't accept that a disease would stop me from using my God-given gifts.” He hit .327 with 11 home runs during his debut pro season and was considered one of the stars of the Cubs’ farm system.


Shortly thereafter, Santo was told that his Pancreas pretty much stopped functioning heading into his second season (1960) and had to start taking daily insulin injections. He never disclosed his health issues to the Cubs for fear of being considered a medical liability and or released.


“I wanted my teammates and fans to think of me as a ballplayer—not as someone who needed their sympathy,” said Santo. His numbers, his defensive play, his accomplishments, were all done while quietly battling a disease that would ultimately ravage his body. Not until 1971 did the public even learn about Santo’s disease and medical problems.


Turning to Cubs radio broadcasting after his playing days, a position he held for 19 seasons despite continued health problems. He never whined about the road travel or the climb up the massive number of stadium stairs just to get to the broadcast booth at each game. He just loved his life as a Cubs’ Ambassador!


At the age of 60 and for his final decade of life, Santo underwent 15 more operations including issues with circulatory problems that necessitated the amputation of his right and left leg. He endured eye surgeries, heart attacks, a heart-bypass procedure and fought through bladder cancer. Santo died in 2010. A year later, as one of the 17,733 players to play Major League Baseball, Santo became just the 12th third baseman enshrined in the halls of Cooperstown.


Despite it all, Santo continued to be “Mr. Positive” and did his job every day despite the limitations his body imposed on him. He even found time to help raise more than $60-million dollars in Chicago for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, of which he became a board member.


Said Ron, “Until adversity hits you, and I had open-heart surgery and lost both my legs, you think, I can’t get through it. But really, you do what you have to do. I say that to everybody. You have only one way to go, and that’s a positive way.”


Santo became the third Cubs player ever to have his playing jersey retired and has a statue of his likeness immortalized on the grounds of Wrigley Field. When he died, his former teammates draped Santo’s casket with the No. #10 Flag (his jersey number) that flew over the ballpark. Following the service, the procession headed north to Wrigley and ended right at third base where his cremated ashes were scattered on the field that became his home.


"I've often said that baseball must provide hope and faith. Ron Santo personified that spirit with an array of challenges that would test the courage of the bravest amongst us. Ron Santo never lost hope, he never lost faith in himself, in the city of Chicago, in his beloved Cubs and in the game of baseball" — stated by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

Fellas – as you begin to create your own legacy, make sure each and every day you live and play the game of baseball with the three P’S of life: PERSEVERANCE – PASSION – PURPOSE. Ron Santo exemplified these qualities each and every day of his life. He left this earth a Champion and a Hero to Millions of people! That’s the Legacy we all want and hope to leave behind!


All the best! Be sure to take care of those that love you and guided you throughout your career OK!


Jim Loria

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SPECIAL QUOTES

“Many words and phrases come to mind when I think of Ron Santo. Let's start with Unique. Unforgettable. Amazing. Courageous. Inspirational. Natural. Genuine and Real. Generous, Charitable and Kind. Loyal, Strong, Tough, Optimistic, Iconic, Outrageous, Hilarious, Fun, the No. 1 Cubs fan ever, a Partner and a Friend. Ron Santo leaves behind multiple legacies of a loving family, a praiseworthy playing career, a memorable broadcast career, he was a champion of diabetes research and the other legacy would be the remarkable way he handled his physical adversity toward the end"

"Ron Santo got a lot of fan mail, mountains of fan mail. He would take it with us on the road. Before games I would be preparing for the broadcast, he would read these fan notes and then he would pick up the phone and he would call a complete stranger and he would say, 'Hi this is Ron Santo, could I please talk to Larry Smith?' There would be a pause and then Ronnie would kind of chuckle and say, 'No, this really is Ron Santo, I'm calling for Larry.' He did this all the time and they would talk for 10 or 15 minutes" — stated by Pat Hughes, Cubs Radio Broadcast partner with Ron Santo


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“The legacy of a hero is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example” – stated by Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister in the 1800s

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“What you have … give! Because what you save … you lose forever” – stated by Brant Ust, who played nine years in the minor leagues of pro baseball

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“There are countless ways of achieving greatness, but any road to achieving one’s maximum potential must be built on a bedrock of respect for the individual, a commitment to excellence, and a rejection of mediocrity” – stated by Buck Rodgers, former Big League catcher and manager for the Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos and California Angels.

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Jim Loria
E-Mail: loria@sfstampede.com