Johan Santana

A GPS search for “middle of nowhere” might lead you to Tovar, Venezuela, a town of roughly 42,000 people located more than a mile up in the Andes. It is an unlikely birthplace for a Cy Young Award winner, but in a ballpark in Tovar there is a proud sign that says, “Welcome to the territory of Johan Santana.”1   

Johan Alexander Santana was born on March 13, 1979, the second of five children born to his mother, Hilda, and his father, Jesus, an electrician. Young Johan dreamed of becoming an engineer.2 It seemed like a reasonable career path for a kid who wasn’t even the most talented baseball player in his own family – that designation went to his older brother, Franklin.3

Johan’s baseball career almost ended before it started after his coach sent him home from his first youth league baseball practice for being improperly dressed.4 The next day, however, he got a better reception when he arrived wearing the uniform of his father, a semipro infielder.5

Santana started out as a right-handed shortstop but he was moved to the outfield after his coaches figured out that he was a natural lefty.6 By his mid-teens Santana was nudged to the pitching mound because of his cannon left arm, and at a tournament the teenage fireballer caught the attention of Andres Reiner, a Houston Astros scout.

Reiner wanted to sign Santana. He asked the Astros’ front office for funds to make the 350-mile journey to visit the pitching prospect and his family, but big-league players were on strike at the time, so the Astros were being fiscally conservative. The answer came back to Reiner: No.

But Reiner was nicknamed Bulldog for a reason. He kept asking for the money until the Astros’ general manager, Bob Watson, used his personal expense account to cover the trip.7 Watson later recalled, “Johan wasn’t in one of the more populated areas of Venezuela. He was off the beaten path. If it wasn’t for Andres, it’s very, very likely Johan might not have been seen.”8

After a 10-hour drive, Reiner found himself knocking on the door of the Santana family home. Santana’s father wondered who Reiner was and Johan said, “Dad, that’s the man who was there at the tournament.”9 Reiner mesmerized the young southpaw with a picture of the Astros’ spring-training complex in Florida. “I had never seen four or five diamonds together,” Santana recalled. “It made an impression. It was beautiful.”10 Johan’s family was impressed, too, and they urged him to sign with the Astros.

Separating from his family was difficult for Santana. He recalled, “I was crying. I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ But then I told myself that I was going to do it for my family.”11

The Prospect

Santana started out in the Astros’ training academy. The days were long and grueling. Practice began at 7:30 A.M., afternoons were spent in the gym, and evenings were filled with English classes (in which Johan excelled) and other life-skills courses.

Santana began the 1997 season pitching for the Astros’ Gulf Coast League affiliate, and by 1999 the 20-year-old left-hander had worked his way up to the Michigan Battle Cats in the Class-A Midwest League. His numbers for the season were mediocre: an 8-8 record with a 4.66 ERA. He struck out almost a batter per inning, however, and his strong arm drew the attention of Jose Marzan, who was managing the Minnesota Twins’ affiliate in the Midwest League.

“He didn’t have much other than a fastball,” Marzan recalled,12 but that was enough for him to recommend that the Twins select Santana in the Rule 5 draft, in which the Twins had the first pick. Although they really wanted Santana, the Twins were able to select Jared Camp and flip him for Santana and cash in a trade with the Florida Marlins, who drafted Santana from Houston but wanted Camp (a fellow minor-league pitcher who ended up never reaching the majors).

As a Rule 5 draftee, Santana had to spend the entire 2000 season in the big leagues with the Twins. Having never pitched above Class A, Johan wasn’t ready – and it showed. He pitched poorly (a 6.49 ERA) and wildly (5.7 walks per nine innings). In 2001 Santana was back again with the Twins. He spent three months on the disabled list and otherwise pitched sparingly and unimpressively.  

In 2002 Johan was cut from the Twins’ big-league spring-training camp and assigned to Triple-A Edmonton. The team did not know if he had a future as a starter or reliever. The club’s general manager, Terry Ryan, said, “I can’t tell you what he’s going to be, as much as I have seen him.”13 Baseball Prospectus was more certain about Santana, writing in 2002 that his “likely career is as a lefty specialist.”14

Santana’s future and his role were uncertain, but a mere 18 months later, after a sudden and stunning transformation, everyone knew exactly what he was: the best pitcher in the American League. 

The Sudden Ace

The Twins sent Santana to the minors with instructions to work on his changeup. Neither he nor the Twins could have predicted how much both the pitcher and the club would profit from that suggestion. Working with Edmonton pitching coach Bobby Cuellar, Santana developed complete mastery of – and total confidence in – his changeup. He threw the pitch again and again in bullpen sessions and games until it looked identical to his fastball coming out of his hand. “I was challenging myself and forcing myself to take command of that pitch,” Santana recalled.15

Suddenly, he was unhittable. Pairing a 94-mph fastball with a 76-mph changeup, Santana made hitters look as if they were swinging bananas instead of bats. In one game he struck out 16 batters and by the end of May he had piled up 75 strikeouts in just 48⅔ innings. The Twins had seen enough to bring him back to Minnesota.

Santana proved to be just as dominant facing big-league batters. After striking out three times against Santana, the Oakland A’s Adam Piatt said, “I couldn’t tell the difference between his fastball and his changeup at all. His fastball had late life. He was tough to figure out.”16 Santana’s sizzling fastball and cotton-soft changeup were such a devastating combination that his third pitch, a good slider, was often an afterthought.

Santana spent the remainder of the 2002 season swinging between starting and relieving for the Twins, making 14 starts in 27 appearances. He excelled in both roles, posting a 2.99 ERA and leading the team with 137 strikeouts in just 108⅓ innings. When asked if he was a strikeout pitcher, Santana said hitters were “striking out themselves. They are swinging the bats. I’m just throwing the ball.”17 

The following year in spring training, Santana’s relationship with the Twins became seriously strained. The friction arose when Twins starter Eric Milton got injured. The Twins first promised Milton’s rotation spot to Santana, but then they picked up veteran starter Kenny Rogers and demoted Santana to the bullpen. Santana was so angry he considered asking for a trade, but he calmed down, accepted his role, and set out to prove his value. “I looked at it as a challenge,” he recalled. “I was just waiting to show they were making a big mistake by having me in the bullpen.”18

Santana pitched well in a few emergency starts, and by midseason he was a permanent fixture in the starting rotation. Permanent and dominant. In the second half of the year he went 8-1 with a 3.13 ERA. When the playoffs rolled around, the Twins selected him to start Game One of the ALDS against the Yankees. He was the unquestioned ace of the team.

Soon he would be the ace of the league. 

The Best of the Best

By 2004 Santana’s fluttering changeup was perhaps the most lethal weapon in baseball. He honed it in bullpen sessions, working relentlessly to make it indistinguishable from his fastball by alternating the two pitches, over and over, instead of throwing a series of each.19

Seattle Mariners second baseman Bret Boone said, “He’s the only guy I know who at times has a 20-mile-per-hour difference between his fastball and changeup. Usually guys have a 10-mile-per-hour difference.”20 And former Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola, commenting on Santana’s historic 2004 season, said, “I’ve never seen a pitcher make hitters look as foolish as Johan did with his changeup.”21

In 2004 Santana swept all first-place votes and won the American League Cy Young Award unanimously. He started the season slowly – by the end of May his ERA was an ugly 5.61 – but he gained steam in June and didn’t lose a game after July 11, finishing with a 20-6 record. He led the American League in old-school stats like ERA, strikeouts, and opponents’ batting average, as well as new-school categories like ERA+, FIP, and WHIP. Yankees manager Joe Torre was among those who were amazed by Santana. “Sandy Koufax used to put up numbers like that,” Torre said. “Those numbers don’t exist anymore.”22

The Twins rewarded Santana with the biggest contract in team history: a four-year deal worth $40 million. It was a smart baseball decision for the Twins to lock up their ace, but it was also a good business move because attendance jumped noticeably when Santana pitched at home.23

Santana held up his end of the bargain in 2005, making 33 starts for the Twins and posting a 2.87 ERA and a league-leading 238 strikeouts. Poor run support left him with a 16-7 record, though, and in an era when pitcher wins were a critical factor for many voters, Johan finished third in the AL Cy Young vote behind winner Bartolo Colon, who had 3.48 ERA but led the league with 21 wins.

Santana’s performance in 2006 left no doubt about who should win the AL Cy Young. He was unquestionably the best pitcher in baseball. He tied with Chien-Ming Wang for most wins (19) and led both leagues with a 2.77 ERA and 245 strikeouts. He was the first pitcher in 21 years to top the majors in victories, ERA, and strikeouts. He once again received every first-place Cy Young Award vote, becoming only the fifth pitcher to win the award unanimously more than once. Johan was so superior to his competition that Baseball America named him not just the best pitcher in the major leagues but the best player, period.24

Transitions

In 2007 Santana’s fastball lost a little zip and the speed difference shrank between his heater and his changeup. He gave up a career-high 33 home runs and his 3.33 ERA was his highest since 2001. But even though he regressed slightly from his 2004-2006 peak, Santana still had a season for which many players would sell their souls: he made the American League All-Star team, finished fifth on the Cy Young ballot, and won his first Gold Glove.

He also had perhaps the most dominant performance of his career. 

On August 19, 2007, more than 36,000 fans witnessed Santana’s electrifying performance against the Texas Rangers at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. It was obvious early that he had great stuff, with five strikeouts in the first two innings and 11 K’s after five. He didn’t record any strikeouts in the sixth inning but struck out the side in the seventh and again in the eighth. The crowd roared louder with each punchout, reaching a crescendo when Santana buzzed a 93-mph fastball past Jarrod Saltalamacchia to finish the eighth inning. After recording a team-record 17 strikeouts, Santana was spent. He doffed his cap to the thundering crowd and let closer Joe Nathan finish off a 1-0 victory.25 

In his eight overpowering innings, Santana threw 112 pitches and didn’t shake off catcher Mike Redmond a single time. He threw only four sliders – his other 108 deliveries were nothing but bullet fastballs and butterfly changeups that had Rangers hitters flailing helplessly. Texas shortstop Michael Young, who went down swinging three times against Santana, said, “That was as good as I’ve seen his changeup, and that’s saying something.”26 Recalling the magical day years later, Twins outfielder Torii Hunter said, “I didn’t get a single ball in center field. I was bored. I could have brought a lawn chair.”27

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Santana may have been in total control on the mound, but his frustration with the Twins’ front office boiled over in the summer of 2007 when the club traded three-time All-Star second basemen Luis Castillo for a pair of prospects and didn’t make any moves to improve the team. During Santana’s time with the Twins they had won several division titles but had struggled to advance in the playoffs. “Why waste time when you’re talking about something that’s always going to be like that?” Santana said. “It’s never going to be beyond this point. It doesn’t make any sense for me to be here, you know?”28

Santana had a year left on his contract and a no-trade clause, but at the end of the 2007 season he indicated he was open to a change of scenery. He said he loved everything about the Twins, but “if I have to go somewhere else, and it’s for the better, I’ll do it. I won’t have any problems with that.”29

During the offseason, Santana’s agent and the Twins exchanged contract-extension offers that were significantly different in size.30 Then, after endless rumors and speculation, the Twins traded Johan to the New York Mets, who inked him to a six-year $137.5 million deal, the largest contract ever given to a pitcher.31

The kid from the middle of nowhere was going to the Big Apple.

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Santana was welcomed as a savior in New York, the man who could have stopped the Mets from collapsing at the end of the 2007 season, when they blew a division title despite holding a seven-game lead with 17 games left. Santana was aware of the expectations he faced in New York, but he took it in stride. “Pressure is part of the game,” he said on the first day of the Mets’ spring-training camp. “I know what I have to do, so I’ll be fine.”32

Santana proved he had reason to be confident in 2008 as he topped 200 strikeouts for the fifth straight season, led the National League in innings pitched and ERA, and came in third on the NL Cy Young ballot.33 And when his team needed him the most, he was the definition of an ace, going 4-0 in September with a 1.83 ERA to keep his team in playoff contention. In his second-to-last start, he threw 125 pitches over eight innings to secure a big win over the Cubs. He then insisted on pitching on three days’ rest against the Marlins, firing another 117 pitches in a complete-game three-hit shutout to pick up a crucial victory. What made the performance even more remarkable was that Santana did it with a torn meniscus in his left knee that required offseason surgery.

Unfortunately for Santana, it was neither his last nor his most serious surgery during his time with the Mets.

Woe-Han and No-Han

Santana pitched well for the Mets in 2009 and 2010, making 54 starts and posting a 3.05 ERA, but both seasons were cut short by surgeries. In September 2009 he had bone chips removed from his elbow. He recovered and was effective for most of the 2010 season,34 but he was forced to leave an early September start after throwing only 65 pitches. A couple of days later the Mets said Santana’s left pectoral area was sore but the shoulder in his pitching arm was fine.35

It wasn’t.

“WOE-HAN! Shoulder surgery will end Santana’s season” blared the headline in the New York Daily News.36 Rather than rest to heal a pectoral strain, it turned out that Santana needed surgery to repair a tear in the anterior capsule of his left shoulder. It was a serious injury and the timeline for his return to the mound was uncertain. Santana missed the entire 2011 season, but he worked diligently to rehab his shoulder and he willed himself to become the Mets’ Opening Day starter in 2012.

Post-surgery Santana was a different pitcher. His formerly blazing fastball was now an 88-mph fast-enough-ball. Santana knew he couldn’t blow speedballs by hitters anymore, but he still had his parachute changeup and he knew how to pitch. “I know my fastball is not like it used to be,” he said, but “pitching is about keeping hitters off balance.”37 

Despite diminished velocity, Santana was still very effective, and he had an impressive 2.75 ERA when he took the mound for his 11th start of the season on June 1, 2012, against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the 8,020th game in the history of the Mets franchise, and despite having had more than their fair share of dominating pitchers through the years, not once had a Mets hurler tossed a no-hitter. Time and again they came close – there were 35 one-hitters in franchise history – but they never had a no-hit game, and it seemed unlikely to happen that night with St. Louis visiting New York. In addition to Santana’s ongoing recovery from surgery, the reigning World Series champion Cardinals came into the game second in the National League in runs scored and leading the league in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

Santana started out the game with shaky command and didn’t seem to have good stuff. He walked two batters with one out in the second inning, but he stuck out the next two hitters to get out of the jam and then he started rolling. After Santana got through his seventh hitless inning, however, his pitch count was 107. He returned to the dugout and, as he shared with reporters after the game, his manager, Terry Collins, “told me that I was his hero and that was the end of it. I told him I was not coming out of the game.”38

He stayed in.  

On his 118th pitch of the night, Santana issued a walk with two out in the eighth inning. Collins jogged out to the mound as the crowd booed, had a brief conversation with Santana, and then jogged back to the dugout to cheers. “I just couldn’t take him out,” Collins said later. “I just couldn’t do it.”39

Johan finished the eighth inning with his no-hitter intact and then took the mound in the ninth with 27,000 Mets fans roaring for him. He started the inning by inducing looping liners to center field and left field to pick up two outs. Next up in the batter’s box was David Freese. Santana quickly put himself in a three-ball, no-strike hole, but he got a called strike on his fourth delivery and then Freese pulled the next pitch foul to bring the count full.

With the crowd frenzied and his manager fretting, Santana prepared to throw his 134th pitch of the night. He stared at his catcher, Josh Thole, and shook off the sign. At this historic moment, there was only one pitch Santana wanted to throw: his trusty, legendary changeup. The pitch floated in and dove over the plate. Freese swung and missed. Bedlam erupted. Santana’s teammates mobbed him as the scoreboard flashed “No-Han.”40

In the clubhouse after the game Santana stood in the middle of his teammates and told them they had made history together. It was a moment Santana never expected to happen. “I don’t even think I’ve thrown a no-hitter in video games,” he said. “I never had it in my mind that I would throw a no-hitter. Never.”41

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As euphoric as everyone was after Santana’s no-hitter, Terry Collins was filled with anguish about the man he had once described as “by far the greatest competitor I’ve ever been around.”42 The manager was painfully aware of the potential toll that Santana’s 134 pitches may have taken on his repaired and rehabbed shoulder. “I’m very excited for him,” Collins said, “but if in five days his arm is bothering him, I’m not going to feel very good.”43

The Mets gave Johan a couple of extra days of rest before his next start, against the Yankees, but the Bronx Bombers still blasted four home runs off him, including three in a row. He continued to struggle for several weeks before going on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. After he returned, he was worse. The man who threw the first no-hitter in franchise history became the first Mets pitcher to give up six or more runs in five consecutive starts.44 Finally, in late August the Mets announced that Santana would be out for the rest of the season due to inflammation in his lower back.45

A Shooting Star Fades Away

During spring training in 2013, Santana experienced weakness in his throwing shoulder and did not pitch in any exhibition games. Then came the terrible news: In late March the Mets announced that he had another tear in the anterior capsule in his left shoulder – the same injury that caused him to miss the entire 2011 season.46

He had thrown his last pitch for the Mets.

After recovering from a second shoulder surgery, Santana threw for scouts in the spring of 2014. His fastball didn’t exceed 81 mph, but the Orioles gave him a chance and signed him to a minor-league deal.47 Unfortunately, he tore his Achilles’ tendon during an extended spring-training game, ending his season. In 2015 Johan had another aborted comeback with the Blue Jays, after which he settled into his life in Florida, filling his days with his foundation48 and his family (his wife, Yasmile – whom he has known since he was 9 years old – and their three children).

After hinting at other comebacks, Santana finally announced that he was officially retired when he was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2018. That same year he was also eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time, but he didn’t receive the minimum 5 percent of the vote necessary to stay on the ballot. Although widely recognized as the best pitcher in baseball at his peak, his prime years simply didn’t last long enough in the minds of many Hall voters.49

Santana’s career was filled with sharp contrasts and rapid transitions. Venezuela to the United States. Class A to the majors. Reliever to starter. Unknown to ace. Mild Midwest to frenetic New York City. Invincible to incapacitated. And, of course, fastball to changeup. He was a fierce, gritty, determined competitor who would – and literally did – pitch until his arm was ruined.

It’s easy to recall the vision of Santana in his prime – his left arm a whip at the end of his smooth, compact delivery as he fired fastballs and floated changeups and flummoxed the best hitters of his generation. The kid from nowhere could’ve more than held his own against anyone anywhere.

Update in 2025, by Leonte Landino:

Santana has remained close to the game, living near the Minnesota Twins’ spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida, where he regularly serves as a special instructor during preseason camps. In the winter of 2024, his legacy was immortalized with his induction into the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—joining a prestigious class that included Félix Hernández, Andruw Jones, Alfonso Soriano, and Alex Rodríguez.

“This is for Venezuela—because Venezuela is amazing,” Santana declared, his voice breaking through a wave of emotion and thunderous applause.50 Among his countrymen, Santana is revered as the greatest pitcher in Venezuelan baseball history, a title he holds in a respectful and ongoing debate with fellow legend Félix Hernández.

Notes

1 Daniel Cancel, “Santana’s Hometown Awaits His Next Move,” New York Times, January 24, 2008.

2 Sean Deveney, “Twins Ace in Hole Is Santana,” Chicago Tribune, October 3, 2004.

3 “Remote Town Deals Twins an Ace – Santana Still Has Soft Spot for Home in Venezuela,” Houston Chronicle, September 15, 2004.

4 “Remote Town Deals Twins an Ace.”

5 “Remote Town Deals Twins an Ace.”

6 Peter Botte, “Johan Throws ’Em Curveball, From Shortstop to Ace of AL,” New York Daily News, October 5, 2004.          

7 Jack Curry, “Scout Listens to His Instincts, Not to His Boss, and Uncovers a Star,” New York Times, January 31, 2008.

8 Curry, “Scout Listens to His Instincts.“

9 Charlie Devereux, “Venezuelan Children Flock to See Santana on His Trip Home,” New York Times, December 13, 2009.

10 Mel Antonen, “Santana Relishes Role; Dream Ride Takes Pitcher from Venezuela to Twins Bullpen to Starting Rotation,” USA Today, July 27, 2004.

11 Antonen, “Santana Relishes Role.“

12 La Velle E. Neal III, “A Change for the Better; Johan Santana Has Used his Outstanding Off-speed Pitch to Become a Blossoming Star,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 5, 2003.

13 La Velle E. Neal III, “Camp Report; Santana Is Cut from Major League Camp,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 15, 2002.

14 Jay Jaffe, “Johan Santana Won’t Make the Hall of Fame, but His Career Creates a Unique Measuring Stick,” Sports Illustrated, December 21, 2017 (available at https://www.si.com/mlb/2017/12/21/johan-santana-hall-fame-ballot-2018).

15 Dane Mizutani, “For Twins Legend Johan Santana, Memories Will Live On at Target Field,” St. Paul Pioneer Press, August 3, 2018.

16 Jeff Fletcher, “Twins Catch Breaks Against A’s, Mulder; Oakland Hits Into Three Rally-Killing Double Plays Against Santana,” Santa Rosa (California) Press Democrat, July 4, 2002.

17 La Velle E. Neal III, “Santana Provides Big Boost,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 8, 2002.

18 Chuck Johnson, “It’s Unanimous: Santana Deserves Rotation Spot,” USA Today, November 12, 2004.

19 Brian Costa, “Santana and His Baseball Are in a Serious Relationship,” Wall Street Journal, April 5, 2012.

20 Albert Chen, “A SUDDEN ACE,” Sports Illustrated, August 30, 2002. (https://www.si.com/vault/2004/08/30/8184296/a-sudden-ace).

21 Patrick Reusse, “Peers Provide Warm Reception; Jim Perry and Frank Viola, Past Cy Young Award Winners for the Twins, Are Happy to Have Johan Santana Join Their Exclusive Group,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 12, 2004.

22 John Powers, “His Heat Is Stifling; Twins Santana Sizzled Through the Second Half,” Boston Globe, October 5, 2004.

23 Patrick Reusse, “Purse Strings Loosen, and Fears Lessen,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 15, 2005.

24 La Velle E. Neal III, “American League Cy Young Award; Two Out of Three: Not Bad,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 17, 2006.

25 Highlights of Santana’s 17-strikeout performance can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK32meADvjg.

26 Phil Miller, “So Close to Perfect: Santana Whiffs Team-Record 17: Cuddyer Hits Solo Homer for Twins’ Only Run,” McClatchy-Tribune Business News, August 20, 2007.

27 Phil Miller, “Santana, ‘Equalizer’ Are Honored,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 5, 2018.

28 Joe Christensen, “Santana’s Unhappiness Doesn’t Bode Well for Twins; The Two-Time Cy Young Winner Says He Might Not Have a Future with the Team Because It Won’t Do What It Takes to Win a Title,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 1, 2007.

29 La Velle E. Neal III, “Twins; The Offseason: Has Johan Santana Made His Final Start as a Twin?” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 2, 2007.

30 Joe Chistensen, “Do the Math: Twins, Santana a Long Ways Off,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 22, 2007.

31 Ben Shpigel, “It’s Official: Santana and Mets Have a Deal,” New York Times, February 2, 2008.

32 Gerry Fraley, “Santana Raises the Bar: Mets’ Newest Savior Goes About His Business with Quiet Confidence,” USA Today, February 19, 2008.

33 Winner Tim Lincecum trailed Santana slightly in innings and ERA but had far more strikeouts. Second-place finisher Brandon Webb trailed Santana in all three categories but led the NL with 22 wins.

34 Santana also hit his only career home run on July 6, 2010, against Cincinnati. Video available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU2phKSZEeI.

35 Mike Puma, “Santana on Track to Make Next Start,” New York Post, September 5, 2010.

36 “Woe-han! Shoulder Surgery Will End Santana’s Season; Beginning of 2011 in Doubt,” New York Daily News, September 11, 2010.

37 “Woe-han!”

38 Mike Puma, “50-Year Wait Finally Ends, Santana Delivers Amazin’s First No-hitter,” New York Post, June 2, 2012.

39 David Lennon, “Collins Hopes He Can Share Santana’s Joy,” Newsday, June 2, 2012.

40 The complete broadcast of Santana’s no-hitter is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZrpSpMLBSc. A shorter video that is limited to the 27 outs of his gem can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bGvwhz6MW4.

41 Derrick Goold, “No-hitter*, *Santana Throws Gem with Help of Missed Call; Mets 8, Cardinals 0; New York’s Franchise First Comes at Expense of the Redbirds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 2, 2012.

42 John Harper, “Could Be Start of Something: Never-Back-Down Santana Looks Like Pitcher of Health,” New York Daily News, April 6, 2012.

43 Lennon, “Collins Hopes He Can Share Santana’s Joy.” Years later in a Sports Illustrated feature, Collins called Santana’s no-hitter “the worst night I’ve ever spent in baseball.” In the same article, Santana said, “Even if an army had come to get me, I couldn’t have come out of the game.” Phil Taylor, “No-No Regrets: Johan Santana Would Not Alter a Thing. Terry Collins Might,” Sports Illustrated, June 1, 2015 (available at https://www.si.com/mlb/2015/05/31/johan-santana-no-hitter-anniversary-new-york-mets-terry-collins).

44 Mike Puma, “No More Johan; Mets Shut Down Santana for Rest of Season,” New York Post, August 23, 2012.

45 “No More Johan.”

46 Ken Belson, “Santana’s Year Appears Over Before It Begins,” New York Times, March 29, 2013.

47 Eduardo Encina, “Santana deal expected soon: 2-time Cy Young Award winner would go to minors for rehab; Orioles,” The Baltimore Sun, March 4, 2014.

48 https://johansantanafoundation.org/

49 For a thorough examination of Santana’s Hall of Fame candidacy, see Joe Posnanski, “In short, Santana makes for a curious Hall case,” January 19, 2018 (available at https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-case-johan-santana-c265053106).

50 Salón de la Fama del Béisbol Latino.  XI Induction ceremony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2d6Tw6KaoA&t=77s