La Vida Voices: The Game with Benito Santiago

A native of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Benito Santiago emerged in 1987 as a rising star, winning the National League Rookie of the Year with the San Diego Padres. His strong-arm and style of throwing from his knees made him both unique and highly effective in nabbing would-be base stealers and runners that wander too far away from a base. The three-time Gold Glove winner was also a big contributor to the Padres offense winning four Silver Slugger Awards as the NL top-hitting catcher.

Santiago discusses his Puerto Rican upbringing, what influenced his catching style, and the catcher tradition from Puerto Rico. He also reflects on his role in Florida Marlins franchise history, hitting a historic first homerun in franchise history.

The Game

What are your earliest memories of playing baseball?

My father was a contractor. Every time I wanted to play he would take me with him [to work] on the bus. And he wouldn’t give me the opportunity, but I was always into the game, “Dad, let me play.” And that is how I started.

You were known for throwing runners out from your knees. When did you start doing that? And why?     

Well, it’s something that came out when I was 15 years old. I was playing catch with my brother, and we barely had a glove, shoes [cleats], or any like that. But he came out with a garbage can, a big one. Then, he put it at second base, and he told me, “You get behind the plate and you are going to throw the ball on your knees.” And I go like, “Oh, my God. I don’t have strength to do that right now.” But I did it, and I sent that garbage can all the way to centerfield.

It was not easy to me to do it. I started working out every day even when I went on a road trip. I put the mattress against the wall, and I practice there so I don’t wake up the guy on the other side. And they say that practice makes you a better player, and that’s what I did. I started working out, working out, working out.

Were your coaches OK with you throwing from your knees?

Let me tell you, there was a period of time when I would get back to the dugout and my manager would be all over me. He would yell at me, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’

I would reply, “Well I, I’m trying to get somebody out.” And he would tell me ‘you don’t do that again.’ I got nervous because I had spent so much time practicing it that way and now my coach was telling me not to do it that way. Five minutes later he came up to me and said ‘If somebody tries to steal, throw him out that way.’ And I did. And I thanked God that it worked!

I don’t recommend kids try to do it. They could get hurt trying to do what we did in the big leagues and I don’t want kids to get hurt playing baseball. You need to work on your strength in your arm and shoulder to throw hard. God gave me talent to throw like that and I used it.

Why has Puerto Rico produced so many great catchers? Did you start the trend?

There was a catcher, his name was Eliseo Rodríguez. I would always see him on the television, and I had the honor to meet him once. That was a great moment for me. But I tired him out in two minutes. I asked him all the questions I could ask in one minute. And he looked at me, “Look, you are going to be a catcher.”

I am proud that I have been a good catcher, at least as people think. And all the kids look at me, and I always had the most communication that I could. And now that they’ve become catchers I feel proud that we have quite a bit of catchers in Puerto Rico.

Tell us about Iván Rodríguez. You’re both from Puerto Rico and your careers overlapped. What did you think of him as a peer?

Whenever I saw him playing, he always wanted to reach a level that no one could reach. When he came up in the major league I had been playing the game for 10 years. And we came together in the All-Star game which was an honor for me. We talked that day, he asked me questions and I answered them. And wow, a tremendous catcher with the great amount of work he did, but a point of pride for me is that he is a catcher and that he is a Latino and that he is in the Hall of Fame.

You hit the first home run in the history of the Marlins franchise. What do you remember from that?

I remember they have Orestes Destrade over here on my team. I know it was in San Francisco, and we were always talking about, “I’m going to hit it first,” and “He’s going to hit it first.” But what happened was when he batted before me, he was this close to hitting it out. He missed it by just a little bit. It was a double and I hit a home run right after. And then at home plate I told him, “Look, that’s the way you hit a home run.” Quite an experience.

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