We caught up with Twins ace Ervin Santana during this week’s episode of the One Hunnit Podcast. Listen, subscribe, rate and review on iTunes and Podbean.
Get the serious baseball talk, along with Santana’s thoughts on the playoffs, right here.
Here’s the rest of the conversation.
On Hurricane Irma hitting his home country, the Dominican Republic.
“I don’t know, what can I say. Just wait for the storm to get there and hopefully it’s not that bad. I have a couple of family members there, but they’ll be fine.”
Fun fact about Santana: He changed his name from Johan Santana. No joke, it’s true.
“Hey, time flies. I was in the minor leagues when that happened. When they sent me baseball cards to get them signed they were always Johan Santana’s pictures.
Does anyone ask you about that now that you’re pitching for the team that Johan Santana became great with?
“Not much, I guess they forgot about it – I guess that’s a good thing. Johan Santana was the ace here, the Cy Young winner, a tremendous pitcher for the Twins and I’m just trying to follow his steps.”
Is it crazy to compare Jose Berrios to a young Pedro Martinez?
“You’re right because they have the same height, they throw gas and their sliders… the change-up that Berrios has, it’s pretty impressive.”
On the toughest hitter he’s ever faced.
“Derek Jeter. I can’t get that guy out. It was tough. Every time he came to the plate, he was the leadoff guy, and every time he just knew what was coming.”
How was the State Fair?
“It was pretty fun. I got the big turkey leg. I got a funnel cake. Good times.”
Is Bartolo Colon listed in your phone by his name, or his nickname “Big Sexy”?
“Big Sexy. Everybody calls him by that name. Even when we’re on the road, shagging (fly balls) in center field, it’s just (fans yelling) ‘Big Sexy! Big Sexy!'”
Listen to the full interview beginning at the 18:27 mark in the player below.
