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Santo elected to Hall of Fame

CHICAGO — Oh, yesssssss! The guy who immortalized the “oh, nooooo” call when Brant Brown dropped that fly ball is heading to the Hall of Fame.

Ron Santo is joining Cub teammates Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Fergie Jenkins in baseball’s Hall of Fame. He was elected by the Veteran’s Committee in so-called Golden Era (1947-72) balloting announced Monday morning.

While Cub fans can rejoice, the news wasn’t good on the other side of Chicago. Latin American pioneer and White Sox fan favorite Minnie Minoso was bypassed for the Hall in voting.

The 16-member committee included Williams, former White Sox general manager Roland Hemond and Chicago Tribune baseball writer Dave van Dyck. The voters reviewed 10 candidates, each of which needed 12 votes for election.

Santo received 15 votes, according to Hall Chairman Jane Forbes Clark. Jim Kaat was second in voting with 10 votes, followed by Minoso and Gil Hodges with nine each and Tony Oliva with eight.

Also on the ballot were executives Buzzie Bavasi and Charlie Finley, along with perennial All-Stars Luis Tiant, Ken Boyer and Allie Reynolds.

Santo’s election is bittersweet as it comes one year and two days after his death. He battled diabetes throughout his life, including in a 15-year career in which he hit .277 with 342 home runs and 1,331 RBIs while winning five consecutive Gold Gloves.

Santo, an All-Star in nine seasons, is ranked as the sixth best third baseman of all time by baseball analyst Bill James but previously had been bypassed for the Hall by the Baseball Writers Association of America and the Veterans Committee when it was comprised almost exclusively of living Hall of Famers.