Ervin Santana

Infobox MLB player


width = 220
name=Ervin Santana
position=Starting Pitcher
team=Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
number=54
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|12|12
debutdate=May 17
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
statyear=May 30, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=48-35
stat2label=Earned Run Average
stat2value=4.50
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=523
awards=
*by|2008 All-Star
teams=
*Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (by|2005-present)

Ervin Santana (born December 12, 1982 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Name

Santana was born Johan Ramon Santana, and used that name throughout his life until 2003. At that time, he decided to change his name to avoid having the same name as pitching star Johan Santana. [http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/sports/pro/article_579731.php News: One Johan was enough - OCRegister.com ] ] According to Ervin Santana, "I just came up with Ervin... Ervin Santana, that sounds good."

Career

Santana was a starting pitcher for the Angels' double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers early in 2005, where he posted a 5-1 record and 2.31 ERA in 15 starts. Following an injury to Angels starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar, Santana earned a promotion. He made his first major league appearance on May 17, 2005. He was crushed by the Cleveland Indians in a game in which he gave up the pitching version of the cycle (single, double, triple, and a home run) in just his first inning.

He wowed Angel fans in the second start of his Major League career six days later. Facing the Chicago White Sox's Jon Garland (who at the time had the best record in baseball), Santana bested Garland by pitching a complete game shutout. He gave up only 5 hits and struck out 7 for his first career victory.

To many fans' surprise, that would be the last time Santana would pitch for the Angels for three weeks. With Escobar seemingly healthy following his stint on the disabled list and no room for him on the 25-man roster, Santana was sent back down to the minors. He still received a promotion from his Travelers days earlier in the season since he was sent to the Angels Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees.

After Escobar's elbow problems became a recurring problem, he was placed back on the DL and Santana received his second call up to the majors. He pitched well enough to earn a spot on the playoff roster, but was initially left out of the four-man rotation. In the pivotal Game 5 of the American League Division Series of the playoffs against the New York Yankees, Angels ace Bartolo Colón went out with a shoulder injury in the second inning. Santana filled in as the surprise long reliever, and pitched 5-1/3 innings to earn his first playoff win in his first appearance.

His short rookie season with the Angels ended with 12 wins in the regular season. In the 2006 season, he finished with a 16-8 record. After a disappointing start to the 2007 season where he went 5-11 with a 6.22 ERA, he was optioned to triple-A Salt Lake Bees on July 18, 2007. He was recalled by the Angels on August 17, 2007 and regained his spot in the starting rotation.

Santana's nickname is "El Meneo", which, when translated to English, is "the shaker". He has been given this nickname due to the way his tall slender body sways when he walks.

On April 30, 2008 Santana equaled an Angels record with a 5-0 start to the season. He joined Angels legend Frank Tanana and teammate Joe Saunders, who equaled Tanana the day before. Santana is 11-3 with a 3.34 ERA as of the 2008 All-Star Break.

In the All-Star Game Santana gave up a fifth inning homer to Matt Holliday of the Rockies.

On September 22, 2008, Santana pitched against the Mariners, going 8 innings allowing 5 hits 1 earned run and striking out 9 en route to his career high tying 16th win of the season. On October 3rd, 2008, he gave up 4 runs in the first inning, 5 total in the game, to put his team behind the Red Sox in game 2 of the ALDS.

References

External links

*baseballstats |mlb=429722 |espn=6280 |br=s/santaer01 |fangraphs=3200 |cube=S/Ervin-Santana