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It had been so long, some fans had forgotten. Had you forgotten too? It seemed familiar to some, but to others very foreign. "Who is that?!" As he trotted out to center field, some started to remember.
Joe Santiago was once one of the gems of the Washington D.C. Yankees organization. He was bright (6-rating on intelligence) and always played like it was his last game (7-rating on work ethic). The Venezuelan born center fielder was maybe the fastest baseball in the league. Some say, maybe the fastest baseball player to ever live. The 24-year-old made plays in the outfield that couldn't be explained by science. His ability to cover that much ground...to make such leaping grabs...it was if he were from another planet. And then you saw him on the base paths, and thought, maybe another galaxy.
After being recognized as the best defensive CF in the IL, Santiago committed himself to becoming a better hitter. He took the BLB by storm in 1979. Playing his normal, highlight-reel defense, but now he was a force at the plate. A season after hitting just .236, with a .282 OBP, Santiago became the best lead-off hitter in the IL. He was hitting .316, had over 40 stolen bases by the All-Star break and was on pace for nearly 130 runs. He was elected to the All-Star game and the Bats (changed name in the 1978 Off-Season) were playing great baseball, only a few games back of the division leading Wildcats at the break.
This was the beginning of the end. Later that season Santiago dislocated his shoulder making an acrobatic catch at the wall. He would miss the rest of the year. The injury was so severe that numerous surgeries were necessary in the off-season to repair. He would recover in time to make opening day, but he was never the same player. Sure, he still had his wheels and could still make defensive plays that were unmatched. Just his bat had slowed severely. He won the 1980 IL Glove Wizard award but hit just .229 and went from leagues best lead-off man to a liability at the plate.
Much of '81-'83 was spent up and down from the minors. When he was on the big league club, it was mainly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. The bottom fell off when he spent the 1983 season in Triple-A and watching all of his closest friends winning the Brewmaster's Championship without him. In 1984 he was claimed off waivers by the Batavia Muckdogs and barely hit .200 for the season. By August '85, he was a free-agent, without a team.
Fast forward one-year. The Washington Bats are in the thick of a pennant race. Santiago is finishing up a season in the Venezuelan Baseball League with the Įguilas del Zulia. In this August, the Bats had lost current lead-off/outfielder Michio Nago to injury, also a shoulder injury on a defensive play. For weeks the Bats scoured the free-agent wire, making calls to veterans who would play cheaply in a limited role down the stretch. They needed someone who could play center if anything happened to Larry Fitzsymons, Nago was the only one who could. In September, the Bats made the call to an old friend.
Game one in the divisional round of the IL playoffs, the Bats faced the Kodiaks. In the top 2nd innings, Fitzsymons (stop me if you have heard this) got hurt on a defensive play in center. The diagnosis, a sprained elbow, he would miss the rest of the series. Bat fans as well as Bat players all felt a chill down their spine. The Bats hadn't made it back to the Brewmaster's since 1983. What was thought to be the beginning of a dynasty had hit a few road blocks. No one knew how far they could go this season but surely they couldn't defeat the red hot Kodiaks without Fitz.
It had been so long, some fans had forgotten. Had you forgotten too? It seemed familiar to some, but to others very foreign. "Who is that?!" As he trotted out to center field, some started to remember. "Number 95? Who the hell are they bringing in?" A still rail thin (listed at 167 lbs, yeah, right) player emerged from the dugout. This time around, he is no longer the speedy kid who was taking the league by storm. He was the speedy 33-year-old who never forgot what it was like to play in front of the DC crowd.
Santiago finished the game 2-3, with an RBI double, a run scored and a walk in the 13-1 route of the Kodiaks that really set the tone for the series.
"This is my first time in playoffs," an emotional Santiago said after winning the series in five games. "I never knew. I never...thought I would be back. Here. Playing for this organization. And to be where I am right now...it's special."
Santiago will start in center field in the ILCS against the heavily-favored Windy City Playboys.
Joe Santiago was once one of the gems of the Washington D.C. Yankees organization. He was bright (6-rating on intelligence) and always played like it was his last game (7-rating on work ethic). The Venezuelan born center fielder was maybe the fastest baseball in the league. Some say, maybe the fastest baseball player to ever live. The 24-year-old made plays in the outfield that couldn't be explained by science. His ability to cover that much ground...to make such leaping grabs...it was if he were from another planet. And then you saw him on the base paths, and thought, maybe another galaxy.
After being recognized as the best defensive CF in the IL, Santiago committed himself to becoming a better hitter. He took the BLB by storm in 1979. Playing his normal, highlight-reel defense, but now he was a force at the plate. A season after hitting just .236, with a .282 OBP, Santiago became the best lead-off hitter in the IL. He was hitting .316, had over 40 stolen bases by the All-Star break and was on pace for nearly 130 runs. He was elected to the All-Star game and the Bats (changed name in the 1978 Off-Season) were playing great baseball, only a few games back of the division leading Wildcats at the break.
This was the beginning of the end. Later that season Santiago dislocated his shoulder making an acrobatic catch at the wall. He would miss the rest of the year. The injury was so severe that numerous surgeries were necessary in the off-season to repair. He would recover in time to make opening day, but he was never the same player. Sure, he still had his wheels and could still make defensive plays that were unmatched. Just his bat had slowed severely. He won the 1980 IL Glove Wizard award but hit just .229 and went from leagues best lead-off man to a liability at the plate.
Much of '81-'83 was spent up and down from the minors. When he was on the big league club, it was mainly as a defensive replacement and pinch runner. The bottom fell off when he spent the 1983 season in Triple-A and watching all of his closest friends winning the Brewmaster's Championship without him. In 1984 he was claimed off waivers by the Batavia Muckdogs and barely hit .200 for the season. By August '85, he was a free-agent, without a team.
Fast forward one-year. The Washington Bats are in the thick of a pennant race. Santiago is finishing up a season in the Venezuelan Baseball League with the Įguilas del Zulia. In this August, the Bats had lost current lead-off/outfielder Michio Nago to injury, also a shoulder injury on a defensive play. For weeks the Bats scoured the free-agent wire, making calls to veterans who would play cheaply in a limited role down the stretch. They needed someone who could play center if anything happened to Larry Fitzsymons, Nago was the only one who could. In September, the Bats made the call to an old friend.
Game one in the divisional round of the IL playoffs, the Bats faced the Kodiaks. In the top 2nd innings, Fitzsymons (stop me if you have heard this) got hurt on a defensive play in center. The diagnosis, a sprained elbow, he would miss the rest of the series. Bat fans as well as Bat players all felt a chill down their spine. The Bats hadn't made it back to the Brewmaster's since 1983. What was thought to be the beginning of a dynasty had hit a few road blocks. No one knew how far they could go this season but surely they couldn't defeat the red hot Kodiaks without Fitz.
It had been so long, some fans had forgotten. Had you forgotten too? It seemed familiar to some, but to others very foreign. "Who is that?!" As he trotted out to center field, some started to remember. "Number 95? Who the hell are they bringing in?" A still rail thin (listed at 167 lbs, yeah, right) player emerged from the dugout. This time around, he is no longer the speedy kid who was taking the league by storm. He was the speedy 33-year-old who never forgot what it was like to play in front of the DC crowd.
Santiago finished the game 2-3, with an RBI double, a run scored and a walk in the 13-1 route of the Kodiaks that really set the tone for the series.
"This is my first time in playoffs," an emotional Santiago said after winning the series in five games. "I never knew. I never...thought I would be back. Here. Playing for this organization. And to be where I am right now...it's special."
Santiago will start in center field in the ILCS against the heavily-favored Windy City Playboys.
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