A bittersweet moment: Ron Santo finally takes his rightful place in the Hall of Fame

Ron Santo was inducted Sunday into baseball's Hall of Fame.

It should have happened decades earlier. And it's inexcusable that it didn't. The man Bill James called the sixth best third baseman ever to play the game died of complications of bladder cancer almost a year to the day before his belated election to the Hall.

Why it didn't remains a mystery. Two of the other Hall of Fame third basemen of the modern era- I will not mention their names on this occasion- were vocal in opposing Santo's election, arguing that his numbers just didn't measure up.

The thing is, though, that they do. In fact, they compare favorably with those of many stars whose place in the Hall nobody would challenge- and are better than those of several of the third basemen long since enshrined in Cooperstown.

It shouldn't have taken so long. And that Ron Santo didn't take his place among them until after his death is utterly inexcusable.

Santo's widow, Vicki, (right) delivered the speech we never got to hear Ron give. She praised his courage, his refusal to indulge in self-pity despite his lifelong struggle with diabetes and the amputation of both legs, his love of the Cubs- and his love of their fans.

We love you too, Ron.