FLUSHING, NY — Among New York Mets donning the orange and blue on Saturday for the Alumni Classic in Queens, a three-inning exhibition game between former Mets on Team Shea Stadium and Team Citi Field, was Venezuelan pitching icon Johan Santana, the only pitcher in franchise history to ever go the distance and complete a no-hitter.
Reliving the days of the left-hander dominating on the bump, the former LatinoMVP Award recipient from 2006, Santana, 46, of Tovar, Venezuela, a four-time All-Star, and two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, was full of joy to be back at Citi Field—stating in an interview with Latino Sports, “I haven’t been here in a while, especially wearing the uniform and being on the field.
It’s a lot of emotions, but it’s always good to be back, hanging out with these guys, ex-teammates and friends. I’m very happy to be back.”
Johan Santana in the center of the team photo for the Mets’ Alumni Classic on Saturday at Citi Field – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Santana, a Minnesota Twin from 2000-2007 and then a Met from 2008-2012, provided emotions to all of those tuned in on the days where he was pitching, posting a career-ERA of 3.20 to go along with a 139-78 record and 1,988 strikeouts across 284 starts and 360 games overall.
His 139 career wins are the third-most ever by a Venezuelan-born pitcher in MLB history, trailing just Félix Hernández (169) and Freddy García (156) while his strikeout total of 1,988 is the second-most only behind “King Félix” (2,524).
Johan Santana’s last time on the mound of Citi Field before Saturday was on August 11th, 2012 – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
Speaking more of his homeland of Venezuela and the production of pro-talent year-on-year as MLB’s 2025 Opening Day Team Rosters combined consisted of 63 Venezuelan-born players, the second-most for a country/territory outside of the United States with the Dominican Republic leading the list at 100, Santana said, “That lets you know the kind of talent that we have. With the development that we always had, and then, with all the stuff that we have now with the academies and everything, they’re helping grow the talent out of Venezuela. The willingness of them to play the game and to learn and to represent our country is something that makes you feel very proud.
Hopefully they’ll keep growing and we see more Venezuelans in the game.”
Johan Santana sees the growing trend of Venezuelan-born MLB players to continue across the game on all levels – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
One of Santana’s most proudest moments of his legendary career came after the 2006 season where he was just named the AL Cy Young Award winner by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and also a LatinoMVP Award recipient by the Latino Sports Writers and Broadcasters Association.
At the time of receiving his one of a kind award from Latino Sports, Santana revealed how winning LatinoMVP meant more to him than the AL Cy Young because it came from his people, those in his community, and individuals who had a similar upbringing as him.
Johan Santana receiving his 2006 LatinoMVP Award from Latino Sports founder and president Julio Pabón – Image Credit: Latino Sports
When asked if he still felt the same nearly 20 years later on Saturday afternoon as former Mets took batting practice, he replied, “100%. Where we come from, all the stuff that we have to go through to come into this country, to learn a new culture and to blend in with the game and their culture, it’s an honor that I am very proud of.
It’s something that has made me feel very proud of because as a Latino ballplayer in this country, just as a Latino in general, we have to work twice as much as anybody else to achieve good things. And we hope that we can serve as an example for a lot of people who want to get better in life and have a better life, especially in this country.”
Johan Santana was still just as grateful for his LatinoMVP Award Saturday afternoon as he was in 2006 – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
What’s next for Santana is helping lead his homeland to championship glory, recently being named Team Venezuela’s pitching coach for the 2026 World Baseball Classic which is set to be played next March.
“I’m looking forward to it, we got a great group of guys,” he said. “When they presented their idea to be a pitching coach, I didn’t hesitate because I know what that means and, for me, it’s an honor. We’re working really hard and hopefully we’ll put the right team together to win it all and go all the way. I know it’s not easy, but we’re gonna be ready for it.”
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