John Branch of the New York Times reflects on the Cubs' seemingly always bad luck: 

Ron Santo still feels that he is closing in on everything he wants. He can imagine a cure for the diabetes that forced his lower right leg to be amputated in 2001, and the lower left one in 2002. He can picture the championship that has eluded the Cubs since 1908. And he can hear the call that tells him, finally, that he is going to the Hall of Fame.

Nobody epitomizes the plight and the wait-till-next-year optimism of the Cubs like Santo, 68. He was a nine-time All-Star as a third baseman for the team from 1960 to 1973, and has spent the last 19 seasons as an emotionally charged color commentator for the team’s radio broadcasts. He has been both witness and participant in the team’s luckless lore.

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