Carlos Santana (baseball)

Carlos Santana
Santana with the Cleveland Indians
Philadelphia Phillies – No. 41
First baseman / Designated hitter
Born: (1986-04-08) April 8, 1986
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 11, 2010, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Batting average .247
Home runs 198
Runs batted in 673
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Dominican Republic
World Baseball Classic
2013 San Francisco Team

Carlos Santana (born April 8, 1986) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter, and catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Indians on June 11, 2010, and was primarily a catcher through the 2013 season. Noted for his plate discipline and power, Santana has also emerged as an excellent defender at first base.

A native of Santo Domingo, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Santana as an amateur free agent on August 13, 2004. He played in the Dodgers' minor league system until July 26, 2008, when the Dodgers traded him to the Indians. Each season since 2011, he has hit at least 18 home runs while finishing in the top ten in the American League (AL) in bases on balls. In 2017, he was recognized as the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year at first base. He also set the Indians' club records for home runs by a switch hitter for both career and in a single season. Santana has twice participated in World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the Dominican national team, winning the gold medal in 2013. In 2018 he started at first base for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Early life

Santana was born in Santo Domingo. He has seven siblings: five sisters and two brothers. Their parents began divorce proceedings when he was 15 years old. He and his sisters lived with his mother after the divorce, which afforded him the opportunity to play baseball, and he also became a father figure to his sisters. Santana played baseball with his neighbors in a 5-on-5 format and instead of using bats, they swung with baseball hats. When Santana signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he received a bonus worth $75,000, and used part of the money to buy his mother a house.[1]

Professional career

Minor Leagues

Santana signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005. He began his professional baseball career with the Gulf Coast Dodgers, the rookie level minor league affiliate. He played 32 games in 2005 and batted .295. In addition to catcher, he played second base, third base, and in the outfield.[2]

On July 26, 2008, he was traded with John Meloan to the Indians for Casey Blake. In 2008 with the Akron Aeros, Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino, and Kinston Indians, Santana had 117 RBIs.

Entering the 2009 season, Santana was named the top prospect in the Indians organization by Baseball America.[3] He was also ranked as the organization's top prospect in 2010.[4] He was named the Indians' 2009 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the "Lou Boudreau Award").[5]

Cleveland Indians

2010−11

The Cleveland Indians promoted Santana on June 11, 2010, to make his major league debut. He had hit .316 with 13 home runs and 51 RBI in 57 games for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.[6] He batted third in the order, making him the first Tribe player to debut hitting third since Jim Norris in 1977, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.[7]

On June 12, 2010, in his second MLB game, Santana recorded his first major league hit, a two-out, two-RBI double off Washington Nationals pitcher J.D. Martin in the second inning. In his next at-bat, Santana hit his first major league home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning.[8]

On August 2, 2010, Santana was injured in a game at Fenway Park while defending home plate against Boston Red Sox baserunner Ryan Kalish. While attempting to dislodge the ball from Santana's mitt, Kalish slid into his left knee, bending it to the side. Santana was unable to walk off the field and had to be removed on a cart. Tests revealed that Santana had a high grade sprain of his LCL and a hyperextension of his left knee. The injury ended Santana's rookie season.

Santana started a triple play against the Chicago White Sox on April 3, 2011 with a diving catch off of an Alexei Ramírez bunt.[9] On April 29, 2011 Santana hit his first major league grand slam, a walk-off to defeat the Detroit Tigers, 9−5.

Santana finished 2011, which was his first full season in the major leagues, with 27 home runs, setting a club record for home runs hit by a switch hitter, and played 66 games at first base. He also hit 79 RBI, 35 doubles and added 97 walks. He was one of four hitters in 2011 to reach 25 home runs, 35 doubles, and 90 walks, joining Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, and Joey Votto.[10]

2012

On April 10, 2012, the Indians signed Santana to a five-year, $21 million contract with a club option for the 2016 season.[10] In the eighth inning of a May 25 game versus the Chicago White Sox, Santana sustained a hit in the mask from a foul tip and was removed from the game due to experiencing dizziness. He was subsequently placed on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion.[11] Heading into the All-Star break, Santana was hitting .221, five home runs and 30 RBI in 69 games. Manager Manny Acta spoke of the hopes the Indians had for their catcher but admitted he was not hitting "the way we expected him to hit."[12]

When Santana hit a home run in a July 18 game versus the Tampa Bay Rays, it was his first since May 15.[13] He later added on a single and finished the game with a season-high four RBI, his first multi-RBI game since May 11.[14] "I know Santana feels so much better to get that monkey off his back. That power drought had been weighing on him", Acta remarked after the game.[13] Santana matched a career with five RBI in a September 23 game against the Kansas City Royals.[15] He hit two home runs in the game, his third career multi-home run game and first of the season since April 8.[2][16]

2013−2016

In 2013, Santana and the newly-promoted Yan Gomes split the catching duties nearly evenly, with Santana seeing significant time at first base and designated hitter when Gomes was catching. With the emergence of Gomes' defensive prowess, Santana saw less and less time at catcher.[17] He started 2014 playing primarily third base, a position he had not played since single-A, with some time at catcher. After a stint on the 7-day concussion DL in early June, he played exclusively at first base for the remainder of the season and into 2015.[18] In 2014, he became the first switch hitter since Lance Berkman in 2004 to hit at least 25 home runs with 100 walks in the same season, and the fifth Indian switch hitter to do accordingly.[19]

On September 21, 2016, Santana hit his 150th career home run, doing so against the Kansas City Royals.[20] During the regular season, Santana batted .259, 34 home runs, 87 RBI and .865 OPS. He produced 30 home runs and 68 RBI when batting left handed.[21] Santana homered twice in the 2016 American League Championship Series versus the Toronto Blue Jays. He also recorded the final out of the Series by catching a Troy Tulowitzki pop-up in foul territory, sending the Indians to the World Series. The Chicago Cubs defeated Cleveland in the World Series in seven games.[22] The Indians exercised their $12 million option for 2017.[21]

2017

After the Indians acquired Edwin Encarnación in free agency prior to the 2017 season, he took over as the team's designated hitter, and Santana played primarily first base.[23] During the first 84 games of the season, he hit .238 with 10 home runs.[24] In August and September, the club won an American League-record 22 games in a row,[25] and Santana hit .365/.484/.689 during the streak. He had hit 13 home runs and 313/.429/.596 through that point in the second half of the season.[24] On September 10 versus the Baltimore Orioles, he drove in his 585th run, passing Omar Vizquel as the Indians' career RBI leader among switch hitters.[26] Overall in 2017, he batted .259/.363/.445, 112 OPS+, 90 runs scored, 23 home runs, 79 RBI, 88 BB, 94 strikeouts, and five stolen bases.[18]

Santana placed fourth in the AL in walks and seventh in times on base (242).[27] With significant improvement on defense, he led AL first basemen in total zone runs (13) and assists (95), was second in double plays (129), fourth in putouts (1,055), and fifth in fielding percentage (.996).[28] The Indians won an AL-best 102 games for the regular season, but were defeated by the wild-card qualifying New York Yankees in the ALDS.[29] He won his first career Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award at first base, given to the top defensive player in the major leagues at each position.[30] He was also named a finalist for the American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award at first base.[31]

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 2, 2017, Santana filed for free agency.[32] On December 20, he signed a three-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that included a team option for the 2021 season.[33] The value of the three guaranteed seasons was $60 million.[34] Santana reached 1,000 hits for his career on April, 7, 2018, with a three-run home run in a 20−1 win[35] versus the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.[36]

International career

He played for the Dominican Republic national baseball team at the 2013 World Baseball Classic and 2017 World Baseball Classic.

And also, he was selected MLB All-Stars at 2014 MLB Japan All-Star Series and 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series.[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Golden, Megan (July 23, 2013). "Family figure and now productive Major Leaguer: Tribe catcher Carlos Santana does it all". Tribe Vibe. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Carlos Santana minor league statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ Badler, Ben (November 19, 2008). "Organization Top 10 Prospects: Cleveland Indians". Baseball America. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  4. ↑ Badler, Ben (January 6, 2010). "Organization Top 10 Prospects: Cleveland Indians". Baseball America. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Minor League Player of the Year by Team". The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ Castrovince, Anthony (June 11, 2010). "Santana promoted, arrives in Majors". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Publications. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  7. ↑ Castrovince, Anthony (June 12, 2010). "Santana impresses in debut vs Nats". MLB.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Washington Nationals vs. Cleveland Indians - play-by-play". ESPN.com. June 12, 2010. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  9. ↑ Van Schouwen, Daryl (April 3, 2011). "Sox' Ramirez bunts into triple play in Indians' 7–1 win". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011.
  10. 1 2 "Carlos Santana signs 5-year deal". ESPN.com. ESPN.com News Services. April 10, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  11. ↑ Hoynes, Paul (May 26, 2012). "Catcher Carlos Santana on 7-day DL with concussion". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  12. ↑ Valade, Jodie (July 14, 2012). "Sweet-swinging Michael Brantley offers some needed pop to lineup". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Pluto, Terry (July 18, 2012). "Heroes old and new help Cleveland Indians defeat Tampa Bay Rays". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Carlos Santana career stats". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advance Publications. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  15. ↑ Duber, Vinnie (September 23, 2012). "Santana's homers lead Tribe past Royals". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Santana's 2 HRs, 5 RBIs lead Indians over Royals". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
  17. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (November 7, 2013). "Gomes takes home Tribe's defensive award". MLB.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  18. 1 2 "Carlos Santana stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  19. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (September 11, 2014). "Santana ties own club mark for HRs by switch-hitter". MLB.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  20. ↑ Martens, Benno (September 21, 2016). "Three takeaways from the Indians' 2−1 win over Kansas City". BelieveLand Ball. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  21. 1 2 Rapp, Timothy (November 3, 2016). "Carlos Santana's contract option picked up by Indians: Latest details, reaction". Bleacher Report. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  22. ↑ Axisa, Mike (November 3, 2016). "Cubs-Indians World Series Game 7: Kluber, Miller hit a wall at the worst time". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  23. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (January 5, 2017). "Indians sign free agent Edwin Encarnación to a three-year contract". MLB.com. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  24. 1 2 Baumgaertner, Gabriel (September 12, 2017). "22 fun facts about the Cleveland Indians' historic 22-game winning streak". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  25. ↑ Dodd, Rustin (September 15, 2017). "Streak struck down: Royals beat the Indians, snap longest winning streak in 101 years". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  26. ↑ Noga, Joe (September 10, 2017). "Switch flipped: Carlos Santana becomes Cleveland Indians all-time RBI leader among switch hitters". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  27. ↑ "2017 AL batting leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  28. ↑ "2017 American League fielding leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  29. ↑ Waldstein, David (October 12, 2017). "What happened to the Cleveland Indians?". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  30. ↑ USA Today Sports (November 10, 2017). "Byron Buxton named Major League Baseball's defensive player of the year". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  31. ↑ Randhawa, Manny (October 26, 2017). "Elite defenders named Gold Glove finalists". MLB.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  32. ↑ Hoynes, Paul (November 2, 2017). "Carlos Santana, Bryan Shaw among six Cleveland Indians to become free agents". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  33. ↑ Zolecki, Todd (December 20, 2017). "Phillies sign Carlos Santana to 3-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  34. ↑ Maaddi, Rob (December 20, 2017). "Phillies, Carlos Santana agree to 3-year deal worth $60 million". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  35. ↑ Weisberger, Jed (April 7, 2018). "Santana smacks 3-run HR for 1,000th career hit". MLB.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  36. ↑ Weisberger, Jed (April 7, 2018). "Two grand slams, 20 runs for Phillies in romp". MLB.com/Phillies. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  37. ↑ "Eight Players Selected for Japan All-Star Series". The Official Site of Major League Baseball Players Association. September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
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