Johan Santana Contract, Hall of Fame, Number, Stats, No Hitter, Trade

Johan Alexander Santana Araque was born on March 13, 1979, and is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher.

Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 to 2012.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Twins, Santana is a four-time All-Star and earned a pitching triple crown in 2006.

On June 1, 2012, Santana pitched the first no-hitter in New York Mets history against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Santana was discovered in 1994 by Andres Reiner, who was a scout working for the Houston Astros at the time. Santana’s parents agreed to let him attend Houston’s academy in Valencia.

When Astros scouting director Dan O’Brien called Reiner and asked if he had signed Santana to a contract, Reiner reported that he was still deciding if Santana was a better prospect as an outfielder or a pitcher.

After six weeks of training, Santana was told he was going to pitch. Santana did not like it and almost left, but Reiner convinced him to stay. While originally a center fielder, Santana was converted to a pitcher at the academy due to his arm speed.

In 1999 he was named the Tovar Mérida Athlete of the Year.

Johan Santana Contract

On Feb. 1, 2008, Johan Santana agreed to a six-year, $137.5 million dollar contract with the New York Mets, two days after the Minnesota Twins dealt their ace left-hander for center fielder Carlos Gomez, and pitching prospects Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. By all accounts, it was a steal for the Mets.

Johan Santana Hall of Fame

Johan Santana Number

Jersey Number, 57 (2008-2012, New York Mets)  and 57 (2000-2007, Minnesota Twins).

Johan Santana Stats

Pitcher Johan Santana played 12 seasons for the Twins and Mets. Santana had 139 wins, 78 losses, an earned run average of 3.20, and

Johan Santana No-Hitter

No-hitter. On June 1, in only the 11th start since returning from shoulder surgery, Santana threw a no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals, the defending World Series champions. This was the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history, coming in their 51st season and 8,020th regular-season game.

Johan Santana Trade

For GM Omar Minaya, Santana was the solution. Sending away top center field prospect Carlos Gomez plus minor leaguers Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey, Minaya, and the Twins agreed to a trade that resonated both in Queens and throughout the major league landscape on this day in 2008.