Johan Santana

Johan Alexander Santana (born March 13, 1979) is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Minnesota Twins.

Biography

Born in Tovar, Mérida State, Venezuela, Santana was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft free agent in 1995. Selected by the Florida Marlins from Houston in the 1999 rule 5 draft, Santana was traded to the Twins. Finally, he made his debut in the 2000 season.

Related Topics:
Tovar, Mérida State - Venezuela - Houston Astros - Florida Marlins - Rule 5 draft

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Santana is tough on both righthanded and lefthanded hitters. He works quickly and throws a 95 mph (153 km/h) fastball, a hard slider and a changeup. His pitches are too close to take, but difficult to drive, then batters find themselves lunging after balls that are down and out of the strike zone.

Related Topics:
Mph - Km/h - Fastball - Slider - Changeup

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A long reliever most of his career, in 2003 Santana took over a starting role after pitching in the bullpen nearly four months. He went 8-0 after August and pitched the ALDS opening game against the Yankees.

Related Topics:
Reliever - ''ALDS'' - Yankees

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