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A chat with Mets ace Johan Santana

March 28, 2008

The Mets acquired Johan Santana in a six-player trade with the Twins on Feb. 2 and cemented the deal by signing him to a six-year, $137.5-million contract. Santana, a two-time Cy Young Award winner at the age of 29, is considered the best pitcher on the planet. But that only scratches the surface of Santana, who shares his strong connection to his hometown of Tovar Meridain in the Andes region of Venezuela in this Q&A with Newsday's David Lennon.

Is it true that you started out playing centerfield and your coaches thought you could be the next Ken Griffey Jr.?

Oh, yeah. As a Little Leaguer, that's where I always wanted to play. I didn't know anything about pitching. I was always about hitting, running, catching the ball and throwing runners out. But once I started training as a professional, and I went to the academy, and I got into organized baseball, it was different. They told me that I was better off pitching than playing the outfield. I had a better chance to reach the big leagues by pitching. One of the things I still like to do now is run around shagging fly balls in batting practice. I have fun with it.

Were you really sent home from your first baseball practice for wearing shorts?

I was 11 years old. They told me if I wanted to be a baseball player, I had to look like one. So I went back home and I dug into my dad's old stuff in the closet and I tried to find the smallest uniform that he had. It was still way too big for me, but the next day I went back there and I told them now I look like a baseball player.

How did you decide on a position?

The coach asked me where I wanted to play and I pointed over to shortstop because that's where my dad played, so he gave me a righthanded glove. I started to throw righthanded. But then they asked me, 'What hand do you write with?' When I told them this one (holding up his right hand), they switched me. When I started throwing lefthanded and hitting lefthanded, it was way easier. About a week later, I was part of the team. I got my first lefthanded glove from a friend. It was all beat up and ripped. I had to try to fix it. It was terrible, but it was mine. I have great memories of that glove.

When did you have an idea that you could be good at pitching?

My last year in the National Tournament, I was in the academy as a pitcher, but my teammates didn't know about my development. I was throwing over 90 mph at the age of 16 and they didn't know. I was pitching two feet in front of the rubber because [of the rules for that age group] and I was throwing a no-hitter. I had a no-hitter through five innings, but when I went out for the sixth, the scout who signed me said, 'No mas.' They took me out, but I didn't want to just watch the game, so they put me back in centerfield and I got to catch the last out. I remember the catcher of my team went through three different batting gloves that day, his hand was so red and sore from catching that day.

Was baseball more fun back then? Does it feel more like a business when you get older?

It's a job now, but at the same time, you never forget those memories. I love this game. I know it's what I do for a living, but I really love what I do. It takes a lot of passion for me to do my job and that's why I try to have fun with every little thing. I'd rather watch a Little League game than a big-league game because it brings back such good memories. I'm a big fan of the Little League World Series. You see those guys get so serious and they're just little kids. The game is everything to them. And it still is for me, too.

There are so many stories of you bringing everything from baseball equipment to medical supplies back to Tovar Merida. But there is one thing in particular that sounds like it took more effort to pack.

A couple of years ago, we had floods and mudslides in my hometown, and they didn't have the tools to help. People said they worked with their hands because they didn't have anything. I went to the fire station and noticed they didn't have a fire truck, so I told them I would do my best to bring one there. We found a fire truck in Minnesota, from the Coon Rapids Fire Department, and I brought it all the way down to Venezuela. I told them, at least you have that. Now you don't have any excuses. Now you can do the job. I want to see that fire truck driving around saving lives and helping people.

What would you tell people about Tovar, your hometown?

My town, my whole region, the Andes, is known for being kind people, very respectful people that will welcome you and not just blow you off. In Venezuela, when you talk about that region, the Andes, they call it the City of Gentlemen. That's what we are known for and that's the way I am. It's the way I was raised, from when I was a little kid to the way that I am right now.

I noticed that you have 'El Gocho' stitched onto the toes of each of your cleats. What does that mean?

That region, where I'm from, we're called Gochos and I'm very proud of where I'm from. When I won my first Cy Young, people took pride from that, they said they were from Johan Santana's land. People from that region, they're not from the big cities. We are in the valleys and up on the mountains. When they see those little things on TV, they go crazy. It's a great feeling. Coming from Venezuela and being where I am right now, I take everything very seriously. I know I have a lot of responsibilities because I know the whole country is watching and I want to make them happy. I want to make them proud.

New York is going to be your adopted city now and people are going to react to you in kind of the same way. Will that be a lot of pressure on you?

I'm looking forward to that. I know exactly what it takes for me to do my job when I get on the mound, so I'm not worried about that. If you do your job, everything else will take care of itself. Believe me, I've been through a lot of things in my career. In my country, we have a population of over 26 million. You're known in every little corner of Venezuela, so it's not like I've never been exposed to something like that. I don't really know how it's going to be in New York, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to be on their side. I have to defend this right here [pointing to to the Mets logo on his chest] and believe me, I'm going to be ready for it because that's what I do best.

Everybody is always talking about your changeup. You've probably been asked about it hundreds of times over your career. What makes it so great, in your mind?

I've got a lot of confidence. I know I can throw that pitch at any time, in any count. But the key for that pitch is that you have to have command of your fastball. If you have command of your fastball, and then you make your changeup look the same when you release it, then you trick the hitters. But you've got to have a lot of confidence to do that. You've got to trust your pitches, your hands, your whole body. Sometimes you're going to fail. But when you fail, it's how you recover, how you put everything back together, that's the difference between one pitcher and another. You don't let that situation control you and take you over. Once I throw the baseball, I don't know what's going to happen. But I've got a good idea of what I want to do.

You seem to be a very down-to-earth person. Is it tough to be labeled a superstar, to have everyone saying that Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the world?

It's a great compliment. And you know you have accomplished a lot of things in your career with everyone watching. But you're just another human being like everybody else. That's the bottom line.You may have a different lifestyle, but that doesn't mean you're better than me or I'm better than you. That's how I was raised. So why would I pretend to be something that I'm not? People may see me as a superstar, but I'm just another person.