PORT ST. LUCIE — Sean Manaea was having breakfast Saturday morning when supervisor Carlos Mendoza dropped by to inform him in regards to the visitor teacher who could be coming via camp.
Listening to it was former Mets left-hander Johan Santana, Manaea felt like a child another time.
“He was my first true hero in baseball,” Manaea stated Sunday at Clover Park. “Super cool. Like, 13-year-old Sean was geeking out. I mean, 33-year-old Sean was too, but 13-year-old Sean was like, ‘I can’t believe what I’m witnessing.’”
Manaea discovered Santana in one of many bullpens between the backfields the place he was working with minor league pitchers. He wasn’t scheduled to throw, however he wished to fulfill his boyhood baseball idol, so he went out to the bullpen and all of a sudden discovered himself starstruck.
“He shook my hand and I used to be like, ‘Whoa, this is crazy,’” Manaea said. “And it was crazy.”
Santana was somewhat reclusive after his playing career ended. He last pitched in the majors in 2012 with his arm practically falling off, but that was the year he etched his place in Mets history with his no-hitter, the first in franchise history. There were numerous comebacks in 2013, 2014 and 2015, but it’s robust sufficient to return again from one shoulder surgical procedure and Santana had undergone two by 2013.
Santana, who pitched for the Minnesota Twins for eight years earlier than spending 5 with the Mets, settled throughout the state in Fort Myers, the place the Twins have their complicated. He was out of baseball utterly till about 3-4 years in the past when his son Johan Jr. was taking part in in center faculty, and a few coaches requested if he’d like to assist out.
“If someone is going to get me back into the game, it’s going to be him,” Santana stated. “I was like, ‘Hey, if you want me to be more than happy. I’m a parent before anything, but if I’m on the field and I’m a coach, I’m a coach, I’m not [a parent].’ So that’s the way we handle stuff. And then I really enjoyed it.”
Santana has risen via the ranks as Junior has, now teaching his junior varsity crew at Canterbury College. Junior is an outfielder, regardless of his dad’s higher efforts to encourage him to get on the mound, and his teammates don’t know that Santana was as soon as one among finest pitchers within the sport.
A two-time Cy Younger Award winner and a four-time All-Star and a Gold Glove winner who acquired MVP votes thrice, Santana received the pitching Triple Crown in 2006 and led the league in ERA for 3 straight seasons. The Venezuelan made a profession out of his changeup, specifically, the circle change, throwing the ball with a grip that varieties a circle on the facet.
In right now’s sport, guys are altering up their changeups by attempting to reap the benefits of seam-shifted wake. It’s one thing new Mets right-hander Clay Holmes does effectively along with his kick change (the ball “kicks” on the axis to the three o’clock spot).
Whereas the sport has modified, Santana believes the basics of the pitch are the identical.
“To me, it was about changing speeds and keeping them off balance,” Santana stated. “Don’t let them get comfortable. I’ll throw in, I’ll throw up, I’ll throw my fastballs up and in, and then I’ll throw my changeup. So I knew I had to know the strike zone to set up changeups. So that’s how I did it…
“Now, with all the resources they have and all the devices and technology they have, you get that information. So now it’s all about trying to get into the game quicker and trying to get the [least amount] of damage you can with [fewer] pitches.
The seam-shifted wake isn’t something Manaea has mastered, but still wanting to gain an edge with the pitch, he sought out the guy who used to throw it better than most.”
“[We talked about] changeup grips and his mentality on the mound, that bulldog mentality we all talk about,” Manaea stated. “He’s very open about trying to help out, so it’s really cool.”
Supervisor Carlos Mendoza, who is aware of Santana from Venezuelan baseball circles, set it up as a shock to Manaea. The Mets social media crew had the gamers pose with chalkboards that folks sometimes use for youths to commemorate their first day of a brand new grade. They wrote their title, favourite meals and favourite gamers on the board, and Mendoza took notice of Manaea’s favourite participant.
“I knew Johan was coming, and I didn’t want to say anything to Sean,” Mendoza stated. “So yesterday, when he first got here, I pulled Johan aside and said, ‘Let’s meet Sean.’ It was a pretty cool moment.”
Santana was flattered, although it did make him really feel a bit previous.
Teaching highschool baseball and coming to camp for the primary time as a visitor teacher has Santana contemplating getting again into the sport in one other capability. Perhaps Mets followers and prospects will see extra of Santana within the coming days.
Or perhaps the legacy he leaves behind is extra changeups being thrown by Mets pitchers.
“Maybe I’ll have a good changeup this year,” Manaea stated.
