9
2013
Johan Santana A Hero? No, No, No
An article by 
A pair of Chicago Cubs centerfielders, Jimmy Qualls (1969) and Joe Wallis (1975), stole two of Tom Seaver’s early bids for a no-hitter. One year after being traded from New York to Cincinnati, Seaver threw a no-hitter for the Reds. Nolan Ryan never pitched a no-hitter – as a New York Met – but after being traded to the California Angels in 1971 he nudged Mets fans every couple years, throwing seven no-hitters.
“Every time he pitched you expected a no-hitter – or 15 strikeouts,” said Jay Horwitz, Mets VP/Public Relations, referring to Dwight Gooden.
In May 1996, Gooden tossed the only no-hitter of his career – as a member of the New York Yankees. Even Duffy Dyer had to leave the New York Mets to catch his first no-hitter (John Candelaria, Pittsburgh, 1975), 11 years before Josh Thole was born.
Four years later, in 2000, amidst a slow start and turmoil over comments Mets manager Bobby Valentine made during a speech at Penn’s Wharton School of Business, Mets ace Al Leiter attempted to lighten the mood. “I think I’m going to have to throw a no-hitter today to get the back page in New York with all the stuff going on,” he said. Starting against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road, Leiter surrendered a second-inning lead-off home run to Wil Cordero, crushing the hopes and promise of the first-ever Mets no-hitter.
John Maine was on the brink, again, in 2007, until Florida Marlins catcher light-hitting catcher Paul Hoover reached on an infield single with two outs in the eighth inning. Maine settled for a one-hit, complete game shutout but, again, hopes of a no-hitter were dashed.
There were other close calls before, after and in between those chronicled here, but you get the idea. The New York Mets avoided no-hitters for a half-century. It was baffling at times. How could the pitching-rich Mets not have a no-hitter?
Seaver, Ryan, Gooden, Leiter, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Craig Swan, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, David Cone, Mike Hampton, Bret Saberhagen, Frank Viola, Bob Ojeda, Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine; over 50 years of baseball the stars never aligned, not for a single summer’s night, for Steve Trachsel, George Stone, Rick Reed, Bobby Jones, Orlando Hernandez, Dave Mlicki, Pete Harnisch, Pete Falcone or Pat Zachry? No, no and no. Game after game, season after season the Mets were denied.
To blunt the pain and frustration, Mets fans turned the no-hit quest into a punchline. On any given night during the season a Mets fan could grab their smartphone, tap the Twitter icon and wait for [insert pitcher’s name here] to give up the first hit of the game which, inevitably, led to a tweet along the lines of:
Well, not tonight #Mets fans. That’s 7,952 games without a no-hitter.
So, on June 1, 2012, when Johan Santana became the first pitcher in Mets team history to throw a no-hitter, fans celebrated. I celebrated. In fact, the New York Daily News and New York Post back pages hang on my office wall. It was a big deal. But that’s where the road forks for me and many Mets fans.
Last week, amidst controversy over Santana’s health, Mets blogger Ted Berg tweeted:
Johan Santana returned from career-threatening surgery and pitched the first Mets no-hitter. He could show up 300 lbs. and he’d still be my hero.
Thirty-five people re-tweeted the post. I am not sure if the reaction was a symbol of support or fans just wanted to share his message with the baseball world. Either way, I disagree. Yes, I was amazed by Santana’s drive to come back and perform like the two-time Cy Young Award winner he once was with the Minnesota Twins. No, Santana should not be labeled a hero for one game.
SNY’s Chris Carlin dished out a portion of these stats on Twitter, to which another Mets fan replied:
Fair, for first no-hitter in Mets history.
Fair? Really? This is a sad – and misguided – statement.
When the Mets traded six players for Santana in 2008 they also agreed to sign him to a six-year, $101.5 million contract. Since then, he’s made 109 regular season starts, winning 46 games. He’s earned over $900,000/start in New York, or, $2.2 million per win. He missed all of the 2011 season and one-half of the 2012 season (because of the wear and tear he put on his arm pitching the no-hitter).
Remember the day you heard the news that the Mets had finally acquired Santana from the Twins? I do. Expectations were high. After the crushing collapse at the end of the 2007 season, Santana symbolized a renewed hope that 2008 would be different. Of course, it wasn’t. The point is: Santana was going to help the Mets win; a division, a league championship, maybe a World Series. You did believe that, then, right?
Hypothetically, would you give back the no-hitter if the Mets could have had a healthy Johan Santana in July, August and September? I would. I am of the mindset that winning baseball games, not pitching no-hitters or breaking records, is the goal. I am most happy when the Mets are winning. It doesn’t matter how, but if the Mets win.
Let’s face it, Santana’s not coming back after the 2013 season (if he’s not traded earlier). Over five seasons in New York he’s been closer to a disappointment than hero. Call me naive, but I expected more than one no-hitter from Santana, but thanks for the memory (singular).
Read more of my thoughts on baseball at JohnStrubel.com.
About the Author: John Strubel
My name is John Strubel and I have been a Mets fan since 1972. Professionally, I have been a working member of the media since 1987. In addition to media relations and broadcast work for the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays minor league affiliates, my career spans 25 years in the radio industry as a on-air personality, program director and sports-talk show host. You can reach me at john@johnstrubel.com or on Twitter @johnstrubel
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I have to disagree on the point of missing time in 2012 because of the wear and tear from the no hitter. The reason he missed time was because the Mets mishandled his ankle injury and subsequent rehab. If you recall, he was solid in the immediate aftermath of the no no, except for his 1st game after and that was only because of the extra 2 days rest. The problem came when Reed Johnson stepped on his ankle. They let him continue in that game and I believe two more before deciding, hey, maybe we need to take care of this. Then they brought him back after 1 three inning rehab start in Brooklyn. I don’t believe he was ready to come back. Likely as not the Mets asked him if he could go, he said yes and they never questioned it.
absolutely correct.
going into the no hitter, he had IIRC a 2.75 ERA. 5 games later (going into the ankle stomp game) it was at 2.76, and he was coming off a very strong 8 IP game vs. LA.
once he got hurt, that was pretty much it.
I’m not that impressed with a ho-hitter. It’s not a perfect game but it is still rare. Johan tried and fought for us and he shouldn’t be smeared on his way out.
K-Rod = Ho-Hitter
Johan = No-Hiiter
Ur right, I’ll take a No-Hitter everytime
If Johan had gutted out a win in game seven of the world series I’d call him a hero. Pitching a no-hitter is a nice personal achievement, but hardly heroic unless you did it the way the Phillies’ Roy Halladay did it.
The Cardinals were kind enough not to file a protest on that Carlos Beltran double down the left field line that was ruled foul. Most likely because Carlos Beltran insisted that they didn’t. He and Johan were close. I wonder what would have happened if they did?
Nothing. You can’t protest a judgement call – the only things that can be officially protested are instances where it is thought the umpire misinterpreted a rule
John, welcome to MMO!
While I respect your view, I think your premise is flawed: Santana isn’t a Mets hero by dint of a questionable NH, though it was a masterful performance from a player who had just battled back from a very serious injury and was pitching really well till that point in the season.
Santana deserves to be considered a hero because of everything he had done for the Mets till that point in time. IMO, this includes being a warrior on the mound who occasionally wears his emotions on his sleeve. He rallied his troops constantly in the dugout, even in seasons bordering on the meaningless. But more than anything, Santana always took the mound with a ferocious attitude and gave of every skill he had in game after game during some seasons when he got absolutely no run support. On Mets teams that fairly stunk, he was one of three or four guys one could point to and say to fans from other teams: “But we’ve got The Johan!”
This is why he’s a Mets hero.
What sort of person he is, what charities he runs, whether or not he helps old ladies cross the street, etc., are all rather beside the point when we speak of heroism in a baseball uniform; it’s about what the man does between the lines and what he gives the fans.
I agree with you.
I think you have to understand heroism in a baseball context is different than the heroism of a first responder or our military. Two different things.
You make a lot of good points, John. Definitely a blog that gets one to think. And that’s good.
I do, however, have to disagree. Johan IS a hero. Sure, it’s frustrating knowing he came to camp overweight, of course. But 30 years from now, when people think Johan Santana, they will think the No Hitter, not the weight.
Ron Swoboda was a 242 hitter with us. Endy knocked in 71 RBI’s over 3 years (albeit a platoon player). And really, Mookie was a mediocre overall hitter as best. Yet, these guys are heroes to Mets fans.
If we can put JC Martin, Buddy, Todd Pratt and others on a pedestal, then I have no prob putting Johan above them all
Hi guys,
I never thought of Santana as a Met hero but then, never thought of him as not being one, either. Whoever finally was going to pitch that first no-hitter was going to go into Met folk-lore for doing it no matter what. But in terms of being remembered as a Met hero (which is the true test, anyway) I don’t think so. I don’t think 44 years from now fans are going to look back at Johann the same way we look not at Seaver but of Koozman, Jones, Agee, Swoboda, Weis, Harrelson, Gaspar, etc.
But I did think Johann showed a lot of class that night, acknowledging how much it meant to the fans for never having one before. I know the next day I was shaking hands with strangers who just happened to be wearing Met caps or jerseys.
He’s a baseball hero… Different terms of real life and baseball.. It’s why they call some plays game saving catch. Johan has given up his heart and soul to the team, every time I see post of this type I cringe, because It’s a shame that mets fans would dare to even criticize this man, a man who since 2008 has given the mets the 2 most magical moments. Very sad when I keep reading stuff like that, trying to deminish his accomplishments because he’s been hurt
Hi Alex,
If the Mets are hanging in there again this July due to the second wildcard and Johann is having a very good season, it’s going to be interesting to see what happens. No doubt, a healthy Johann is going to be sought out by a lot of teams short of starting pitching and looking ahead toward the post season knowing they need to upgrade their rotation where pitching is always key. Do we pass up a third season and this time look at Johann as a rental we can get prospects for?
People sometimes like to throw out phrases like “you get what you pay for” and when it comes to MLB that can’t be any further from the truth. Baseball is full of players paid huge amounts of money that never come close to living up to what was expected when they signed. By the same token there are players that are signed that end up performing well above what they were expected at the time they signed. This is MLB.
When you look at what Santana has given the team compared to what was expected after the money he was signed for then I believe even Santana will tell you his performance with the Mets is not what he expected of himself when he signed. Of course as is life sometimes injuries occur and such was a big part of what happened with Santana.
The thing is that words like hero can mean different things to different people so maybe Berg called him a hero for saving him from having to live the drought that was waiting for the Mets 1st no-hitter. I really have no way to know what Berg meant by it. Same as if the author doesn’t feel like Santana is a hero for whatever reason it is how he views a hero.
In the end maybe the better question would of been can we and what do we define as a hero when it involves the game of baseball?
Santana gave me a great memory. I will always remember where I was and more importantly who I was with when it happened and really isn’t that all that is really important?
I have the Daily News front page pullout of Santana with his hands raised with his fingers in a V pinned above my desk as a reminder of how special that moment was. For me I don’t need to raise Santana to any higher pedestal than the situation calls for. It was a great moment in Mets history. One I won’t soon forget.
I disagree with what you said about his no-hitter causing us to lose him for the rest of 2012, as a writer, you of all people should know the facts about his downfall this year. He pitched good after the no-hitter, it was the ankle that did him in. It’s as close to fact as you can get.
I don’t know about him being a “hero”….and the no-hitter awesome as it was, was just one game, so I don’t think that makes or breaks him.
But he was a very good pitcher for a few years – then he got hurt and missed a year, and then had a good half year last year bouncing back from the major injury before he suffered the ankle injury and then struggled.
In the end he probably didn’t end up being worth the huge contract, but I wouldn’t say he’s been a “disappointment”. It’s not that much of a surprise to see a pitcher signed to a huge deal get hurt sometime during the contract – those deals are notoriously risky. Overall, he’s still a good Met though