On 10th anniversary of no-hitter, Johan Santana glad Mets manager Terry Collins left him in
Former New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana gestures with a baseball before a ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of his historic no-hitter before an MLB baseball game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Johan Santana wants Terry Collins to be at peace with that night 10 years ago.
Wednesday will mark the 10-year anniversary of Santana’s no-hitter, the only solo no-hitter in franchise history, and the only no-hitter at all until five Mets pitchers combined for one earlier this year. Though the 134-pitch performance is sometimes blamed for ending Santana’s career, the two-time Cy Young winner doesn’t feel that way.
“I wasn’t thinking about tomorrow,” Santana said of his mindset then. “I was thinking about today. That’s how I approach every single outing. And the thing is, as we were going through the season, everything was working pretty good. But to say that game was [the reason]? No, because I already knew there was a lot going on with my shoulder.”
Santana, Collins and Santana’s catcher that day against the Cardinals, Josh Thole, were all on hand Tuesday as the Mets commemorated the event in a pregame ceremony. His performance, which came after he underwent shoulder surgery that wiped out his 2011 season, snapped a streak of 8,019 games without a Mets no-hitter. Neither he nor Collins were aware of the drought until they were well into the game.
Former New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana, waves to fans during a ceremony commemorating the tenth anniversary of his historic no-hitter before an MLB baseball game between the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals at Citi Field on Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Santana, who said he was never really 100% in the 2012 season, reinjured that shoulder and had surgery again in 2013 and never pitched again.
“He did it right,” Collins said. “I just wish he would have did it right in 107 pitches instead of 134. It was certainly fun to watch and fun to witness. I think about it all the time. I’ve had some nightmares, but I’ve had some good dreams, too.”
Responded Santana: “Better memories than that. You’re going to have better sleep from now on. Don’t worry about it. It’s passed and we’re here. Nobody is going to take that away from us.”
Collins, who has publicly debated his decision to leave Santana in, said he came to the realization that he would make the same choice again.
“Even that night, when you’re on the bench and you didn’t like the looks of the pitch count – and I was only concerned about his health more than anything else – but I felt that he deserved the opportunity to get it because of who he is and what he stands for,” Collins said. “It’s easy to say no, I wouldn’t do it again because I know that probably hurt him a little bit afterwards because of throwing that many pitches, but I’ve come to realize that I probably would have done exactly the same thing.”
Nimmo and Smith improving
Brandon Nimmo (sprained wrist) had a “good day” and could start either Wednesday or Thursday, manager Buck Showalter said. He was also available off the bench Tuesday. Reliever Drew Smith is still feeling some of the effects of the pinkie he dislocated, Showalter said, adding, though, that he could throw all but one of his pitches (likely his circle change, which engages that finger). There was hope he would be available if necessary Tuesday.
Lindor Player of the Week
Francisco Lindor was named the National League Player of the Week, the first Met to earn that honor since Noah Syndergaard in 2019. He put together a slash line of .348/.407/.870 last week, with two doubles, two triples, two homers and 14 RBIs over six games.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
