Catcher, San
Diego Padres
Age: 22
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 180
Prior to 1987:
A native of
Puerto Rico, Santiago began playing baseball as a shortstop before switching to
catcher in Little League. Following high school, where his coach was a scout
for the Padres, Santiago signed with San Diego as an amateur free agent. Initially
assigned to Miami of the Class A Florida State League in 1983 he batted .247 in
122 games with 5 home runs and 56 RBIs. Moving on to Reno of the Class A
California League in 1984, Santiago hit .279 with 16 home runs and 83 RBIs and
was named to the league All-Star team. Promoted to Beaumont of the Class AA
Texas League in 1985, Santiago hit .298 with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 5 home
runs, and 52 RBIs and was once again a league All-Star. Moving up to the Las
Vegas Stars of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 1986, Santiago batted .286
with 17 home runs and 71 RBIs, which earned him a late-season call-up to the
Padres. Having impressed with his development both offensively and defensively,
he took over as San Diego’s starting catcher in 1987.
1987 Season Summary
Appeared in 146
games
C – 146, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 572
At Bats – 546
Runs – 64
Hits – 164 [20]
Doubles – 33 [15,
tied with Bobby Bonilla & Glenn Hubbard]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 18
RBI – 79
Bases on Balls
– 16
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 112
[10]
Stolen Bases – 21
Caught Stealing
– 12 [5, tied with Tony Gwynn, Darryl Strawberry & Terry Pendleton]
Average - .300 [10,
tied with Bobby Bonilla]
OBP - .324
Slugging Pct. -
.467
Total Bases – 255
GDP – 12
Hit by Pitches
– 5 [14, tied with six others]
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 4
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 7, RBI - 32, AVG - .283, OBP - .307
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on ten occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 34 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 6 AB) at Philadelphia 8/18 – 11 innings
HR at home – 11
HR on road – 7
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Philadelphia 8/18 – 11 innings
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 919
Put Outs – 817
Assists – 80
Errors – 22
DP - 12
Pct. - .976
Awards & Honors:
NL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
NL ROY Voting
(Top 5):
Benito
Santiago, SD: 120 pts. – 24 of 24 first place votes, 100% share
Mike Dunne,
Pitt.: 66 pts. – 55% share
Joe Magrane,
StL.: 10 pts. – 8% share
Casey Candaele,
Mon.: 9 pts. – 8% share
Gerald Young,
Hou.: 7 pts. – 6% share
---
Padres went 65-97
to finish sixth (last) in the NL Western Division, 25 games behind the
division-winning San Francisco Giants. Despite efforts to shake up the team
during the season, the Padres started slowly and never got it together.
Santiago’s performance which was highlighted by his rookie record 34-game
hitting streak provided some cause for optimism.
Aftermath of ‘87:
Santiago’s
batting average dropped to .248 in 1988 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs, but he
won his first Gold Glove due to his outstanding defense that included 8
pickoffs and throwing out 45 percent of the runners who attempted to steal on
him, thanks to his strong arm and ability to throw well from his knees. Santiago
was an All-Star for the first time in 1989 while hitting .236 with 16 home runs
and 62 RBIs. In 1990 he suffered a broken left forearm that not only kept him
out of the All-Star Game but held him to 100 appearances with a .270 average,
11 home runs, and 53 RBIs. Santiago rebounded in 1991 with 17 home runs, 87
RBIs, and a .267 average while continuing to perform well defensively. Dealing
with a broken finger in 1992, Santiago played in 106 games and batted .251 with
10 home runs and 42 RBIs. With the Padres cutting costs and jettisoning
front-line talent, Santiago became a free agent in the offseason and signed
with the expansion Florida Marlins in 1993. Despite hitting the first home run
in franchise history Santiago had a difficult year in ’93 in which he drew the
ire of the new club’s fans. He batted just .230 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs,
and had uncharacteristic fielding problems, being charged with 11 errors and 23
passed balls. His hitting improved in the strike shortened 1994 season to .273
with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs. With an excellent catching prospect in Charles
Johnson ready to take over, Santiago was once more a free agent and signed with
Cincinnati. Splitting time behind the plate with Ed Taubensee and Damon
Berryhill, Santiago played in only 81 games in 1995 and hit .286 with 11 home
runs and 44 RBIs for the division-winning Reds. A free agent in the offseason,
he spent 1996 with the Philadelphia Phillies where he achieved a career high
with 30 home runs and drove in 85 RBIs while hitting .264 and performing well
defensively. Released by the Phillies in the offseason, Santiago moved on to
the Toronto Blue Jays where he signed for three years and $10 million. He was a
major disappointment in the first half of the1997 season and ended up appearing
in 97 games and batting .243 with just 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. Injuries due
to a car accident in the offseason limited Santiago to only 15 games in 1998,
after which he was released by the Blue Jays. No longer an elite catcher, he
spent a year apiece with the Cubs in 1999 and Reds in 2000 with insignificant
results. With the San Francisco Giants in 2001 he batted .262 with 6 home runs
and 45 RBIs while appearing in 133 games at age 36 and being steady behind the
plate. He was an All-Star once more in 2002 on his way to a .278 average with
16 home runs and 74 RBIs. In the postseason he was MVP of the NLCS triumph over
St. Louis in which he accounted for two home runs and 6 RBIs. Santiago added
another five RBIs in the seven-game World Series loss to the Angels. He spent
one more season with the Giants in 2003 in which he hit .279 with 11 home runs
and 56 RBIs. After the 2004 season with the Kansas City Royals in which he
suffered a broken hand, Santiago was traded to Pittsburgh in the offseason. He
caught in only six games for the Pirates prior to being released. Signed to a
minor league contract by the Mets in July, he didn’t last long before being let
go again, which effectively ended his career. Overall, in the major leagues,
Santiago batted .263 with 1830 hits that included 323 doubles, 41 triples, and
217 home runs. He further scored 755 runs and compiled 920 RBIs. With the
Padres he batted .264 with 758 hits, 124 doubles, 15 triples, 85 home runs, 375
RBIs, and 312 runs scored. Likeliest his greatest contributions came behind the
plate, where he led NL catchers in assists three times, once in fielding
percentage, and once in baserunners caught stealing. He appeared in 28
postseason games and hit .250 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. A three-time
Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger recipient, Santiago was a
five-time All-Star (four with the Padres). He was inducted into the Padres Hall
of Fame in 2015. His legacy has been tainted by allegations of steroid use late
in his career.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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