'Encyclopedia of baseball' Santana puts 2,000th game in the books

OAKLAND -- Believe it or not, there are fewer people to have played 2,000 games in the Major Leagues than have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. With Carlos Santana becoming the 250th player to earn that distinction on Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum, the Twins wanted to make sure to honor the occasion.

They acquired two bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch -- one for consumption and one as a keepsake, marked like a trophy with the details of the achievement, a list of the teams Santana has played for in his 15-year MLB career and -- the last detail to be added -- the final score of the milestone game: A’s 6, Twins 5.

“I say thanks to God every day for giving me another opportunity to stay here,” Santana said. “I'm very proud. I feel great. I feel great. I think I've worked hard for that and for this moment. Today is a special day for me.”

It might have looked better for that commemorative score to be a winning one -- but the Twins let that slip away.

Though Royce Lewis continued his incredible tear of home runs by going deep for a 10th time in 16 games this season and Willi Castro briefly gave the Twins a late lead with a go-ahead, three-run blast in the seventh, a Shea Langeliers homer off Jhoan Duran sent the Twins to their third loss in a row.

Santana doubled in the fourth inning to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Even at the age of 38, he’s the 2024 Twins’ leader in both homers (12, tied) and RBIs (38).

But when it comes to meaningful recognition in MLB clubhouses, performance often takes a backseat to longevity and stature. That’s why the coveted mark of 10 full years of service time carries such hallowed weight among players -- Santana reached that mark in August 2020, with Cleveland -- and why it was so important to the Twins to mark this occasion.

“The best players, who are just simply the best players or guys that are just having the best years, we talk about them enough,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We talk about them literally all day long, every day. I like celebrating guys that dedicate their lives to something and set an example for all the people around them and do it in a way that we would all consider the right way.”

Never the flashiest player on his team nor the most visible, Santana has instead been the bulwark of consistency and availability throughout his career, garnering the respect of seven different clubhouses along the way.

Though he’s only been an All-Star once and has never earned a Gold Glove Award for his steady defense, he has twice led the league in walks while putting up consistent power and on-base totals, and he has been on the injured list only four times.

“Guys like him who are able to play 2,000 games, they dedicate everything in their lives towards being able to fulfill that commitment to play baseball,” Baldelli said.

That’s who Santana has been since he debuted in 2010. Santana couldn’t exactly remember his first plate appearance. After some hemming and hawing, he guessed it was a grounder to second -- which it was -- as he caught and hit third, between Shin-Soo Choo and Russell Branyan in the Cleveland lineup.

Who can blame him for things getting fuzzy?

Among players to appear in the Majors this season, only Andrew McCutchen (2,069) has appeared in more games. Santana is 15th all-time in games played among Dominican players, and fourth in walks among Dominicans, behind only Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

“I understand why everybody loves him,” Carlos Correa said. “Everybody that has played with him loves him. The guy cares. The guy is a professional. He has a great routine that works and has kept him healthy for most of his career, and you get to learn a lot from him: the approach, preparation, how to take care of your body. He’s an encyclopedia of baseball.”

That encyclopedia, and that bat, and that glove -- they’re still reminiscent of that 24-year-old who debuted in 2010.

“Same energy and attitude,” Santana said. “Never put my head down. I'm a guy who's very positive, and I love the game. I love the game. I enjoy my teammates, enjoy the fans, my family. They support me, too. I love everything. That's why I'm here.”