Pat and Ron Show

The Pat and Ron Show was the name of the Chicago Cubs radio broadcasts on WGN Radio 720 AM from 1996 through 2010. Named after the main broadcasters Pat Hughes and Ron Santo, the show ended with Santo's death on December 2, 2010, during the Major League Baseball offseason.

Setup

After the pregame show, which starts 35 minutes before each game, a rock version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame is played. After an introduction, Hughes would say "Chicago Cubs baseball is on the air". Then it's pretty much normal broadcasting throughout the game. Pat Hughes takes a break in the fifth inning in which Judd Sirott takes over until Pat comes back in the sixth. Afterward they will name the Chevy Player of the Game and then play the same version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame as in the beginning of the broadcast.

History

After his Major League career, Ron Santo became the Cubs radio color commentator in 1990. Pat Hughes would join later in 1996 after leaving the Milwaukee Brewers radio team. From 1998 to 2006, Andy Masur served as the back-up broadcaster. Replacing Masur after he left was Cory Provus in 2007 and 2008. He left prior to the 2009 season to join the Brewers radio broadcasts, and was replaced by Judd Sirott, the nephew of WGN radio host Bob Sirott. Matt Boltz is currently the producer/engineer in charge. In 2009, Pat Hughes was named the 2009 Illinois Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. He had previously won the award in 1996, 1999, 2006, and 2007 in Illinois, and in 1990, 1991, and 1992 in Wisconsin. The Pat and Ron Show ended with Ron's passing on December 2, 2010.

Jokes

They would often make jokes in between the action of the ballgame. They will usually have a couple of jokes every game so at 11:30pm on Sunday night, during The Nick Digilio Show, they will have The Pat and Ron Highlight Reel Show. During the show, they will play highlights submitted by listeners via Email and will be voted on by the People in the studio. A long running set of jokes is about Matt Boltz and drinking. One example of a Matt Boltz drinking joke came in the middle of a game in July of the 2008 season. Boltz had asked Pat to mention a friend who had celebrated a birthday that day. After Pat was done, Ron responded, "She must be a bartender." Ron also makes sport at "...that ugly sweater" that Pat allegedly wears at games on occasion.Pat also makes Ron giggle as he impersonates official scorer Bob Rosenberg's "wild pitch" call.

TV and radio

Unlike the Cubs TV, the Pat and Ron Show aired all regular and postseason games. During the postseason and regular games on national television, neutral broadcasters are used. Sometimes fans find that the neutral broadcasters might be biased. When the broadcasters appear to be biased against the Cubs, some fans will mute the TV and turn on the radio. Most of the TV broadcasts are slightly delayed.

Famous moments

It might not have been a Cubs historic moment, but Ron's hairpiece incident was a big event in the booth. During a broadcast at Shea Stadium, Ron was standing in the booth when the overhead heater burned his hairpiece. That incident added to Ron's dislike of Shea Stadium. Pat and Ron were in the booth on September 14, 2008 during Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter against the Astros. On the following Friday, the game was rebroadcast in its complete form.

Catchphrases

Pat's Catchphrases

• "That ball's got a chaaaaaance, gone!"
• "Get out the tape measure, LONG gone!"
• "(Winning pitcher) is the pitcher of record for the positive side, and (Losing pitcher) the other."
• "Save some (runs) for tomorrow."
• "Listen to this (Wrigley Field) crowd!"
• "Can you believe it?"
• "Fasten those seat belts...We have reached the moment of truth."
• "Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's got it (fly ball or pop fly)."
• "The game totals, for the victorious Chicago Cubs."
• "Hang in there!" (during rain delays)

Ron's Catchphrases

• "OOOOOhhhhhh NNNNNNoooooooo!!!!!"
• "How about that?"
• "Gee whiz!"
• "Man oh man!"
• "Alright!"
• "Beautiful."
• "Gosh!"
• "...big boy."
• "Yes sir!"
• "I know it."
• "Very definitely"
• "Hang in there!" (mocking Pat's voice)
• "Absolutely Pat"!

Ron's attitude

If someone just tuned in, they ccould sometimes tell how the game was being played from a Cubs fan's standpoint by the attitude of Ron Santo. He would often get upset about fans disrupting a broadcast or bad calls unless the Cubs had a very big lead. One example of a fan disruption came in July of the 2008 season. The Cubs were on the road playing the Houston Astros. In the 6th inning of the game, Ron was reading an e-mail to Pat. While he was reading the note, he heard an Astros fan screaming "Let's go 'Stros!". After hearing this Ron then reported,"...and there's somebody screaming down there. They ought to shoot him." Everyone in the booth bursted out laughing. Ron would also get very excited when the Cubs are doing well. He also would often contribute information that he learned as a player.

Contests

There will also be contests that go along with the game. The Binny's Beverage Depot Attendance Game is when Pat and Ron guess the attendance at that game. Fans enter via mail in hopes that they can win of a pair Cubs tickets to an upcoming game and to be entered in the grand prize drawing for $10,000. It used to be that the fan would guess whether Pat or Ron would be the closest to tha actual attendance. It is currently played by Pat and Ron agreeing on an amount and if they are within 2,000 of the actual attendance, the person who enters wins. Another game is the Back-to-Back Jacks Contest. It is entered by listening to the pregame show and being the seventh caller. If the Cubs hit back-to-back home runs, the person who entered will win $1,000 or $7,000 if the homers take place in the seventh inning.

Charities

As a part of the broadcast, several charities would receive money when the Cubs did certain things on the field. This feature is ubiquitous in MLB local broadcasts, and presumably will continue after Santo's death (although not necessarily with the same charities). As Santo was a type 1 diabetic, the beneficiaries tended to be charities related to his condition—namely hospitals and most notably the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. For example, for any Cubs player that draws a base on balls, Walgreens donated money to JDRF.