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Johán Santana
The highest-paid pitcher in the history of baseball
Things tend to fall into place along the way. An original design is practically the deciding factor of either success or failure. Descartes' lessons have repeatedly withstood the test of time
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Santana, who was born in southwestern Mérida state, the homeland of great soccer players, has become a baseball superstar (Photo: Michael Cohen / AFP)
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EFRAÍN RUIZ PANTIN EL UNIVERSAL
 Johan Santana has risen to stardom, towering over New York's skyscrapers, from where he oversees the rest of the Earth as the highest-paid pitcher in the history of baseball. His story is a clear example. Being born in Tovar, in the Andean state of Mérida, on March 13th 1979, was actually his first obstacle. There is no need to be an expert in Venezuelan sports to know that natives of the country's Andes play soccer, not baseball. In fact, no one from Mérida had ever made it to the Major Leagues until Johan broke through in 2000. Tovar, however, is no ordinary town. In the 1930's, many of the local townsfolk descended from the mountain and headed north to Lake Maracaibo, to work for oil companies. That is where they learned to play baseball, a past time they would later introduce to their high-altitude hometown. A priest, who relocated to that remote location to teach, was also zealous about the game. Those unexpected twists brought a passion for baseball that took over this small town. So much ball was played that even teams from other areas of the country, showed up to match themselves against local players. One of those visitors, a black man by the name of Jesús Santana, came all the way from Barlovento in the east coast of the country. He never returned. In Tovar, he met and married Hilda Araque, and there they raised their family. Jesús was a phenomenal shortstop, and Johan, the second of his four children, grew up idolizing him. The seed of baseball had been sown. At a very young age, Johan joined Tovar's little league team. Short and thin, the southpaw did not start out as a pitcher. Dreaming of someday being like Ken Griffey Jr. and Rickey Henderson, Johan played centerfield. His ball-playing skills evolved in that position. By the age of 14, he had already played tournaments for Mérida's state team. Though he was not a great slugger or a swift runner, he had a powerful arm. That was the first thing Andrés Reiner, a scout of the Houston Astros, noticed when he first watched Johan play in national tournament in the city of Valencia, in the central state of Carabobo. Reiner liked what he saw and, even though his superiors had explicitly ordered him not to spend a single cent tracking players down, he got behind the wheel and drove all the way to Tovar to find the scrawny southpaw. There was just one problem: Reiner did not know the address. In addition, the Santana's phone was not even working. The family was in a tight financial position and, unable to pay, their service had been disconnected. Reiner, however, did not let his guard down. He asked around, got directions from locals and finally found their house. Another obstacle had been overcome. Santana left with Reiner to begin training with the Astros' organization for a few months in an academy in Guacara, a Valencia suburb. Those were trying times. Johan even came close to calling it quits because, in addition to the hard work, he had to find time for school. But both Reiner and his father managed to encourage him to pursue his dream. He finally signed his first professional contract, not as an outfielder but as a pitcher, so he could unleash his powerful left arm. Right from the start, he had good results. His stats in the minor leagues showed signs of talent. In 1999, the Astros opted not to protect him under their 40-man roster and traded him to the Marlins on December 13, 1999. On that very same day, the Minnesota Twins retained his services. Five years later he would become the best pitcher in baseball. Translated by Félix Rojas |
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