During the last few years of his life, Cubs legend Ron Santo would wait and wait for the call telling him that he made the Hall of Fame. The call never came before Santo passed away last winter. On Thursday the Golden Era Committee announced Santo as one of 10 finalists for the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame.
Santo might have a good shot to make the 2012 class. This will mark the first time he has been considered for the Hall by a Veterans Committee group other than the living Hall of Famers, who did not elect anyone when they alone were given the vote. He also never got a chance before the original Veterans Committee, in part because of rule changes that put his name back on the Baseball Writers Association of America ballot after it was originally taken off when he failed to get 10 percent of the vote (a standard later dropped to five percent).
Former White Sox great Minnie Minoso also was named a finalist. Minoso played in both the Major Leagues and the Negro Leagues. One of his claims to fame is the fact he played in five different decades.
The vote will take place on December 5th at the winter meetings. The announcement will be made on January 9th and any of the players who receive 75% of the vote will be inducted in Cooperstown on July 22nd.