Born on March 9, 1965, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Benito Santiago is the best all around catcher to play the game of Major League Baseball since Carlton Fisk or Tony Pena. Santiago attended John F. Kennedy high school in his home town. Santiago played some excellent baseball in high school and was noticed by the San Diego Padres organization. The Padres signed Benito as an undrafted free agent, and sent him to Miami in 1983 so he could hone and focus his skills. Benito would slowly work his way through the minor leagues, heading to Reno, then Beaumont and finally Triple A Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League.
Benny's first season was a short one in 1986. The Pads called him up from Vegas for some late season work. He would return the following year as the teams starting catcher. Santiago made an impact right off the bat, so to speak. During his rookie season, besides throwing out 1 out of every 3 base runners who tried to steal on him, he also had a 34 game hitting streak. This streak tied the record for a hit streak by a Rookie. He would unanimously win the Rookie of the Year award as well as the Silver Slugger award. In the following season he had upped his throw out percentage up to 45% and repeated as the Silver Slugger. He also won a Golden Glove award, even though he had 12 errors, tops among catchers. Benito would repeat as the Silver Slugger in 90 and 91, and as a gold glover for the next two seasons. He also start the All-Star game in 88 and 89. He would be the backup in 91, 92 and 2002.
Benito had a flashy style behind the plate and was able to throw out thieving batters from his knees. In the batter's box, Benito was known to swing early, at the first or second pitch, trying to get a quick hit.
Benny has had an interesting trip over the 17 seasons in the Major Leagues. He started with the Padres and was later left to the free agent market, where he was picked up by the Florida Marlins for the 93 and 94 seasons. Over the next five seasons he would bounce around the league from club to club. He spent a year in Cincinnatti, Philadelphia, two in Toronto before hopping to the Cubbies and back to the Reds. He's been in San Francisco since the 2001 season, where he's enjoyed hitting 5th, right behind Barry Bonds. While jumping from team to team, Santiago's bat slumped compared to his early seasons. Recently he's been hitting well in Pac Bell, and excelling in the post season. With Barry's high on-base percentage, Benito had no problem hitting strong in the NLCS. He hit 2 home runs and knocked in a total of 11 RBI against the St. Louis Cardinals, earning him the series' MVP trophy in 2002.
However, Benny's playing career was almost cut real short on January 4, 1998. On that day, Benito lost control of the car he was driving down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and crashed into a tree. This caused Benny to miss most of the 1998 season rehabbing and in the minor leagues.
Throughout his career, Benito Santiago has been clutch behind the plate. He has a quick jump to throw out a base stealer and can provide a hit when necessary. Currently the Giants lead 2-0 in the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals, and might go all the way to the World Series. Benito, like Bonds, has never won a championship.
Statistics:
Position: Catcher
Number: #33
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Year TM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
1986 SD 17 62 10 18 2 0 3 6 2 12 0 1 .290 .308 .468 .776
1987 SD 146 546 64 164 33 2 18 79 16 112 21 12 .300 .324 .467 .791
1988 SD 139 492 49 122 22 2 10 46 24 82 15 7 .248 .282 .362 .644
1989 SD 129 462 50 109 16 3 16 62 26 89 11 6 .236 .277 .387 .664
1990 SD 100 344 42 93 8 5 11 53 27 55 5 5 .270 .323 .419 .742
1991 SD 152 580 60 155 22 3 17 87 23 114 8 10 .267 .296 .403 .699
1992 SD 106 386 37 97 21 0 10 42 21 52 2 5 .251 .287 .383 .670
1993 Fla 139 469 49 108 19 6 13 50 37 88 10 7 .230 .291 .380 .671
1994 Fla 101 337 35 92 14 2 11 41 25 57 1 2 .273 .322 .424 .746
1995 Cin 81 266 40 76 20 0 11 44 24 48 2 2 .286 .351 .485 .836
1996 Phi 136 481 71 127 21 2 30 85 49 104 2 0 .264 .332 .503 .835
1997 Tor 97 341 31 83 10 0 13 42 17 80 1 0 .243 .279 .387 .666
1998 Tor 15 29 3 9 5 0 0 4 1 6 0 0 .310 .333 .483 .816
1999 ChC 109 350 28 87 18 3 7 36 32 71 1 1 .249 .313 .377 .690
2000 Cin 89 252 22 66 11 1 8 45 19 45 2 2 .262 .310 .409 .719
2001 SF 133 477 39 125 25 4 6 45 23 78 5 4 .262 .295 .369 .664
2002 SF 126 478 56 133 24 5 16 74 27 73 4 2 .278 .315 .450 .765
Sources:
sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?statsId=3924
www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Santiago_Benito.stm
www.sports-wired.com/baseball/profiles.asp?ID=510
| 
