Ron Santo launched his professional career in 1959, 39 years before Johnny Eberhardt swung his first baseball bat at the age of four.
Santo, the Chicago Cubs third baseman and longtime broadcaster, was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Eberhardt, an infielder from Indianapolis, recently made his collegiate debut with Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Both excelled in the national pastime while battling type 1 diabetes, a condition that affects the body’s sugar use.
When Santo entered professional baseball in 1959, treatment and understanding of diabetes was still in the Dark Ages. Only a handful of Santo’s teammates knew about his illness.
“I feared that if the Cubs found out and I slumped badly,” he explained in Guideposts magazine, “they would attribute it to the diabetes and send me back to the minors – or release me.”
Eberhardt is well-acquainted with the ailment.
His family is African-American, and American Diabetes Association statistics show the disease disproportionately affects the Black population.
“My mom’s dad and my father’s dad both were diabetic,” he said. “I was in pre-school when I found out I had it.”
Unlike Santo, Eberhardt never had to hide his condition. “I coached his older brother, so I knew the Eberhardt family pretty well,” said Jon Richardson, founder of the Indianapolis-based Pony Express travel team.
Eberhardt has been around baseball all his life. His father, Charles Eberhardt II, won four letters as a catcher for Earlham College.
Johnny’s oldest brother, Darryl, was a first baseman for Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis. Two older siblings, Stevie and Tres, starred for Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. Both went on to play collegiate ball – Stevie at Northern Kentucky University, Tres (pronounced Tray) at Xavier.
Johnny’s physicians encouraged the athletic lifestyle. “Insulin and exercise keep the blood sugar down,” Eberhardt said.
At age nine, Eberhardt joined the prestigious Pony Express baseball squad, under the vigilant eye of Richardson. Richardson’s father had type 1 diabetes, so the coach knew what to look for.
“There were times when Johnny would be in the field,” said Richardson, “and he’d have a glazed look and get sluggish.” Whenever that happened, Richardson would scan the stands for Johnny’s mother, Darlene.
“We had a signal that said, ‘Hey, we need to get Johnny’s blood sugar tested,’” Richardson explained. “I’d pull Johnny out of the game, and his mom would take his blood sugar levels. Then we’d do what needed to be done – give him insulin, or candy to get his levels up.”
At Pike High School in Indianapolis, Eberhardt tried out for the baseball team and cracked the starting lineup as a junior in 2011. The Red Devils won just three games that season, as Johnny shuttled between third base, second, pitcher and catcher.
Prior to Eberhardt’s senior year, Pike coach Michael Ruth sought him out. “He said, ‘I need you to be a leader,’” said Johnny. “You don’t always have to lead by words – you can lead by example.”
So Eberhardt put in extra effort during practice and in the batting cage. “I wasn’t very vocal with the team,” he said. “But when I needed to, I got vocal.”
It paid off – Pike’s victory total improved to 12 games. Johnny won team MVP honors, batting .402 with four home runs and 26 runs batted in. He was named to All-Marion County and All-Conference Indiana teams.
By then, Eberhardt had accepted a baseball scholarship from Kentucky Wesleyan. While Ron Santo shielded his diabetes from the Chicago Cubs, Kentucky Wesleyan’s coaching staff knew all about Eberhardt’s situation.
“Johnny was one of our highly recruited players,” said Richardson.
Kentucky Wesleyan’s 2013 roster lists Eberhardt as an infielder-outfielder. “When he was younger, he played more middle infield,” Richardson said. “When we got to the larger diamonds, he started concentrating more on the corners.”
Richardson believes Eberhardt’s future is at third base – the same position Santo played in the big leagues from 1960 to 1974. “Johnny hits well enough to play that position, and he’s got really good hands,” said Richardson.
Santo was voted into the Hall of Fame on Dec. 5, 2011 – one year after his death due to complications from bladder cancer. He once stated that he was the only player to have his entire career with insulin-dependent diabetes.
Just as Jackie Robinson paved the way for African-Americans, Santo – who raised more than $40 million for diabetes research – opened baseball’s portals for diabetics.
“It’s amazing,” said Eberhardt. “When you see what someone (like Santo) with diabetes had to go through just so you could play baseball, you think, ‘Don’t take it for granted.’”
Eberhardt, who plans to major in business management, claims his studies have top priority. “My parents told me, grades come first,” he said.
Asked about professional baseball, he said: “It would take a lot of work. I’d have to get bigger, faster and develop my skills.”
“It’ll be interesting to see if he has the opportunity to play professionally,” said Richardson. “But even if he doesn’t, I think his future’s pretty bright.”
