PIRATES Santiago: Old catcher, new tricks
The 40-year-old veteran has a very different personality than Jason Kendall.
BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) -- After nine seasons of Jason Kendall behind the plate, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed a few days of spring training to get used to new catcher -- well, make that old catcher -- Benito Santiago.
He may be 40, long past retirement age for most major leaguers but especially so for a catcher, yet there was Santiago enthusiastically grabbing pitches and yelling to the pitchers during routine warmups as if he were a Little Leaguer.
Think Kendall, who usually went about his job with a more businesslike manner, ever yelled to pitcher Kip Wells, "They'll never hit that one!" after Wells popped a low-and-away fastball in the bullpen?
"I know I'm older, but I always put myself into it -- I've got no choice," said Santiago, a product of the ever-competitive playgrounds of Puerto Rico. "Whenever I've got [a] uniform on -- even if it's just behind my house or out on the concrete -- I play because I love to play, and I want to win."
Any new catcher would have been a change to the Pirates' pitchers, who have never thrown regularly to anyone but Kendall. His 1,205 games played behind the plate from 1996-2004 are a franchise record.
Different personalities
But while Santiago and Kendall play the game much the same way, with a ferocity and competitiveness some younger players seem to lack, their personalities are far different. It's difficult to imagine Kendall screaming at a pitcher during a game as a motivational ploy, but it would probably not surprise the Pirates to see Santiago do exactly that.
"We still think he's got something left," general manager Dave Littlefield said.
He's shown a lot to the Pirates even before opening day, working tirelessly with their pitchers during workouts or bullpen sessions. He can be seen during games talked animatedly with a pitcher, something Kendall usually reserved for times when he couldn't be caught by a camera.
"I think I can still play the game. That's what keeps me in the game, that's what motivates me," Santiago said. "The young guys want to take over, and I still think I can compete mentally with them -- knowing I'm 40 and they're 20-something years old, it makes no difference to me."
Cutting costs
Santiago didn't play as much as he wanted to last season, when a fractured left hand caused by a Geoff Geary pitch in Philadelphia on June 18 ended his season. With the Pirates needing a veteran catcher after trading Kendall to Oakland in a payroll-trimming move, they dealt for Santiago after the Royals agreed to pay about $1 million of Santiago's $2.15 million salary this season.
Santiago will cost the Pirates only about one-tenth of what Kendall would have this season, but that wasn't the only reason they traded for him.
They also think one of baseball's most durable catchers can be a steadying, guiding force not only with their pitchers but with 26-year-old backup catcher Humberto Cota, who so looked up to Santiago as a youngster that he proudly displayed a Santiago poster on his wall.
"He's an idol to me," Cota said.
It's a familiar refrain to Santiago, a four-time All-Star and career .263 hitter whose 34-game hitting streak with San Diego in 1987 remains the longest by a major league rookie.
"I see a lot of that," said Santiago, who graduated from high school only months after promising Pirates left-hander Oliver Perez was born. "That makes me feel proud, to be able to play with a person who dreamed of playing with me. That's something for me."
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