It’s been well over a decade since Carlos Santana made his Major League Debut.
The Cleveland Guardians – then Indians – hosted the Washington Nationals with the 24-year-old Dominican behind the plate.
Fifteen years later, he is not only back in Cleveland but also playing a prominent role.
As pointed out by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com, he’s now joined the very exclusive club of players with at least 15 years of MLB service:
“According to the Major League Baseball Players Association, fewer than 10 percent of players in baseball history have played for a decade or more. (Santana is in his 16th season, but a full year of service time is 172 days). That puts Santana in even more exclusive company. He is one of only five active position players who debuted in 2010 or earlier, along with Freddie Freeman, Andrew McCutchen, Justin Turner and Jason Heyward,” Stebbins wrote.
Santana trails only Andrew McCutchen in games played (2,174) among active players.
He spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Guardians before stops with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Seattle Mariners.
He even debuted before his manager, Stephen Vogt, made it to the Majors, and Vogt has been retired for four years now.
As Stebbins pointed out, he’s second in franchise history in walks (908) and home runs by a switch-hitter (222).
He’s also No. 8 all-time in homers by a switch-hitter (330) behind legends like Chili Davis, Lance Berkman, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Chipper Jones, Eddie Murray, and Mickey Mantle, respectively.
Santana has always been a fan favorite in Cleveland.
This is his third stint with the organization, and he’s been quite productive as of late, hitting four home runs and driving in 20 runs in May alone.
His longevity, veteran leadership, production at the plate, and work ethic have made him one of the greatest players in franchise history, and hopefully, he won’t leave again before walking away from the game.
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