How Johan Santana Dominated an Era of Baseball 

Twins legend

2008 was a great year for me. It was my first year as a bat boy for the Mets. Johan was so awesome. Just a truly unique and special guy.

My fondest Johan memory came as a Brewers fan. Friday, May 28, 2010. New York Mets vs Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. For over a *month* I had this date circled on the calendar because both Johan Santana's and Yovani Gallardo's current rotation dates suggested they'd face off on this day. I was 14 and I begged my dad to get tickets to the game weeks ahead. It was a tad naive of young 14 year old me. All it took was one skipped off day of rest, one injury, one skip in the rotation and this duel of the aces would not come to pass... But it did. I won't bore you with what I saw because honestly, it was boring in the best way. No offense whatsoever until the bottom of the 9th with a walk off homerun. Before that? Gallardo and Santana were both absolutely dealing. Johan ended up throwing 8 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 walks, no runs and 5 strikeouts on 105 pitches, but Gallardo matched him pitch for pitch, throwing a complete game shutout giving up 8 hits, 1 walk and getting 7 strikeouts on 121 pitches. The 24 year old blooming ace outdueled the 31 year old veteran former Cy Young winner who was at the tail end of that terrific pitching stretch from 2002-2010. And the Milwaukee faithful let Johan know it. Rarely had I seen opposing pitchers get standing ovations when they left the mound in Milwaukee, but Johan got quite the sendoff that night. For me personally, it was the rare instance where the hype not only matched but exceeded expectations. We hoped for a pitchers duel, what we got was a masterpiece.

My favorite pitcher growing up as a Mets fan. I'll never forget watching his No-No live in awe as a 12 year old. Thanks for this video

Alongside Félix Hernández, my favorite pitcher growing up. As a venezuelan, those two meant SO much to us. I believe he should be in the HOF, it's a shame he was robbed of the 2005 Cy Young. I'm sure he would have a much better case if he actually had won three in a row, as he rightfully should have done. Thanks for the video, Jolly. It was wonderful as usual :)

I didn't expect to be emotional today, but man this was a fun trip back in time. Remember how excited I was when they traded for Santana and watching the final outs of his no hitter is one of my best memories as a fan. Yet another amazing video, dude.

Oddly enough as a Twins fan, Johan is the first ace that I remember as well as a young man. Loved watching him pitch. Last time I’ve watched the Twins consistently.

My buddy and I drafted Johan in the Show YEARS ago and opening day threw a no hitter with him. He's been our guy ever since. I also remember watching his no no on my birthday and thought that was the coolest thing ever

I’ll never forget that no hitter against my Cardinals! It was my first game away from Busch Stadium. We flew in the morning and out the next morning. It was absolutely heartbreaking

I was at the Metrodome when Johan had 17 k's, best sports memory of my life. In his prime, Johan was THE ace pitcher.

I was at the game Johan hit his homerun too with my dad. He surprised me that day after I came home from camp. You can actually see us in the broadcast when Johan comes out for his curtain call. We were sitting behind the dugout to the left (on the broadcast). I’m wearing a white Mets jersey and a backward baseball cap and my dad is wearing a black blazer and orange mets cap. We have the screenshot blown up and framed in our house. Great memory.

I think Santana and Kofaux are to similar in terms of careers to put one in the HOF and the other not. Johan for HOF

Glad you covered Santana, Jolly. The man had “Bugs Bunny” changeups, and dominated during his prime. 🔥

I swear, johans change up is one of the best pitches in history of mlb

My fondest memory at a big league ballpark was back in 2019. I was there when the Angels threw a combined no-hitter against Seattle in their first home game since Tyler Skaggs tragically passed away. Everyone was wearing 45, and at the end of the game everyone put their jersey on the mound in memory of Tyler. A painful time brought the team together that night.

Truly one of my greatest memories as a Mets fan! I have the Newsday full front page framed and hanging over my desk. I will always love Johan Santana for that game!

My first MLB Twins game, I got to go watch my favorite team for the very first time, and my favorite player Johan Santana, one day before my 10th birthday, May 27th, 2007! He pitched 8 amazing innings! I loved those Twin teams of my youth and I loved Johan the most! He was truly special on the mound, but also just an all around good dude! Thank you for sparking some amazing memories and great video!

Totally agree. The twins have been my team all my life and I do remember those world series wins but Johanna was really that first ace pitcher that I loved to see. I remember driving hours after work to watch him pitch and driving home all night to make it back to work. I missed his 17 K game in person as a twin but watched every pitch on tv. Still love going back and reminiscing and watching his brilliance. Exactly why I’m here now! Awesome video.

Deserves a spot in the hall of fame. His 2003-2008 run can be put on par with any other ace in the hall of fame

Love the Era of baseball you’ve covered in your recent videos. As a millennial from the Twin Cities Johan will always be my GOAT.

Would be cool to see a breakdown of Carlos zambrano career especially since he threw a nono but also fought his own catcher in the dugout during a game

My “I was at that game” moment was the first game Cal Ripken sat out and ended his streak. I remember everyone thinking it was just a mistake that he wasn’t in the lineup they show on the big screen in center field.

Santana got so absolutely robbed of 3 straight Cy Young awards it's crazy. HOFer with one of the best changeups ever.

I get it, my “I saw that in person” moment is seeing Kyle Gibson hit a home run

My "I was there for that" game was Roy Halladay's perfect game in Florida. Weren't many people there, so I'm pretty happy I got to see it.

The first dominant ace of my favorite team growing up is Pedro Martinez with Boston. I was very spoiled to begin watching baseball in 2002 as a Red Sox fan. 04 was great having a legit knuckleballer, Pedro, and Schilling. Not to mention Ramirez and Ortiz hitting 3 & 4. I’ll never experience watching a team like that again

Mine was game 163 at the Dome for Twins vs Tigers. Sat up in RF when I was 16. They played don't stop believin by Journey and when the lyrics "born and raised in south Detroit" played I've never heard a louder boo lol. Game was wild.

My fondest “I was there for that game moment”: I saw former met’s utility guy Matt Reynold’s hit his first career home run

Being a Cardinals fan, I remember watching his no hitter against us in my brothers room at Cardinal Glennon hospital while he was recovering from having his appendix removed

I'm a Jays fan, but I can relate to this heavily. My first ace was Ricky Romero in 2011. He wasn't the same after that year, but I have so many memories of watching him on the hill every fifth day

i went to that last win at shea. my early 8th birthday present. i loved those 2005-2008 mets. those are some of my earliest memories i have and definitely my earliest sports memories. i remember listening to the game on the radio in my room every night after i had to “go to bed”

You said you never forget your first ace. As a kid growing up in the lou in the 2000s Chris carpenter was pretty legendary. Never forget the awesome ace battle in the 2011 NLDS between him and Roy halladay unforgettable pitcher

"everyone remembers the first ace of the first baseball team they followed" 23 year old Rockies fan: still waiting to unlock this memory.

A lot of people like to mention that it wasn’t an actual No Hitter. Fair point. But then if that one isn’t an actual No Hitter, then RA Dickey’s 1 Hitter should be counted as an official No Hitter. The error should have been charged to Wright.

8 Strikeouts/8 Hits/8 Runs/8th homestand game/134 pitch count = 8/251st no hitter in baseball = 8. Gary Carter died at age 57, Johan's jersey #. The fan who rushed the field and celebrated with the team was wearing a Carter 8 jersey. Gary had a hand in this. Thanks Kid. Love ya' forever.

My fondest baseball memory was being at the Giants game where Bonds hit his 756th hr, I even still have the ticket.

He could have only pitched the one No-Han game for the Mets and he'd still be beloved in NY. Factor in his greatness in his first couple of seasons in NY and he's an all time Met.

My best I was there moment was watching gleybor Torres hit a grand slam in Yankee stadium against Boston in my first Yankees game after being away in the navy for over a year

Hey thanks for another fabulous video. You're one of the content creators I've been blazing through to try and retroactively learn about the history of the game. There are a lot of names that I remember hearing about in the heyday, but I just wasn't really into baseball at all back then. So it's a blur. You do a great job of helping a new yahoo like me catch up. Appreciate it. Gonna put some of Johan Santana's games on the "watch later" list now.

My favorite "I was there" moment: the Rhys Hoskins bat spike

I was there for the 2014 Wild Card Game. First time in my lifetime I was able to see the Royals in the playoffs. Remarkable.

That's so funny, when I started watching this video that ad you showed with Santana and Nathan popped into my head!

beautiful, early-mid 2000s was when i was into baseball the most and Johan was an absolute pleasure to watch. thanks for this look back

Johan Santana is a hall of famer. His peak is undeniable.

Thank you so much for including the Twins Commercial. I've never seen it and I'm so happy I have now.

Great work Jolly! Though I have one tiny nitpick to an otherwise great video. I know a lot of people say he wasn't the same after the no-hitter but I gotta disagree with that comment. His numbers for June, not including the no-hitter, are: 3.60 (4.80 FIP), a 1.23 WHIP, with 25 Ks in that same time frame. To quote the oft-meme'd scene from Chernobyl "Not great, not terrible". What truly did him in was having his ankle stepped on by Reed Johnson, which you showcase at 9:17. Including that start until the end of his season in August, he threw 19 innings across 5 starts, had an ERA over 15 (a FIP of about 7 1/2), a WHIP north of 2.5 and didn't have a start where he allowed less than 6 runs. Compensating for that bum ankle likely made his back and his shoulder give out.

Amazing video!! Big fan!!

If Johan won that 2005 Cy Young there would be more conversation of him in the HOF. Also Mets BP blew a lot of his games in 2008; he should've had closer to 21 games that year. He was one of 3 Mets Pitchers i would schedule games around to see them (along with Harvey and deGrom); hearing "Smooth" on the speakers at Shea in 2008 was music to my ears. It's borderline Criminal that Johan never pitched in the playoffs as a Met. His last sacrifice to the Mets fans was the No-Hitter. He'll forever be a Beloved Met to me.

my favorite game that i was at was st. louis vs kansas city last year and it was early in the year. Albert pujols and arenado went back to back and this was when i realized pujols was going to have a special year

I was there for Mark Buehrle’s no hitter against the Rangers in April 2007. It’s the one where he walked Sammy Sosa, then picked him off at first!

Mine was Game 2 of the 2009 World Series. I’m a 4th gen Yankees fan so seeing them win a WS game (and eventually the WS) was amazing.

I wish I was able to watch Johan. Unfortunately he was 2 years retired when I started watching baseball at 7

my fondest memory at a game is watching Huascar Ynoa hit a grand slam against the Nats, so I totally feel this intro lol. my claim to fame is you can hear me yell as soon as it hits the bat bc it was a summer away game and the nats were bad so nats park was p empty and I was slightly tipsy lmao

I'll never forget him winning game one for the Twins at New York in the ALDS. Johan was a generational talent.

As a lifelong Cleveland resident and diehard Guardians fan, I was very happy (and relieved) to see him exit the AL Central. I also appreciate you not filling this video with clip after clip of Johan dominating the, at the time, Indians It's so crazy how human beings are all made up of the same stuff. But the difference in how pro athletes bodies hold up or breakdown is nuts. Guys like Jamie Moyer pitches into his 40's. Randy Johnson pitched into his MID 40's and threw a perfect game at the age of 40. They were 2 completely different pitchers with The Unit being a power pitcher and Moyer being a control pitcher. So it's not always the style of a pitcher that causes injuries. Then guys like Johan, Mark Prior, Scott Kazmir and others who have elite stuff can't stay healthy after a certain point

Wish you would have put the full clip of that homer but I digress, great video

My favorite player of all-time!

My dad was at Doc Ellis’ no hitter. Can’t be topped by anything I see.

we should get a video on Dale Murphy! He’s an interesting choice because like Santana, he had 2 major awards (2 MVPs) and IMO should be a HOFer

I was a Few rows up from the Derek Jeter dive in to the Stands vs the Sox in 04.. it was actually my first Ever baseball Game safe to say it made me not only a baseball fan for life but a Yankee For life

2016 cubs comeback extra innings win vs. seattle. montgomery relief pitched, played left, made a great catch, and pitched again! then lester pinch hit suicide squeezed ftw at the end

Johan was the first true ace I had ever watched for my Twins, and sadly we haven’t had one since 🙃

The best pitcher I ever saw growing up, dude was scary

another jolly olive banger

He was one of my favs growing up and I wasn’t even a Twins fan

I think the No Hitter was the Baseball Gods gift to Johan for cutting his career short. I hope The Show releases a No Hitter Johan card.

I was in Miami when Jose Fernandez (rip) set the Marlins single season K record in 2016

Ill always remember my one game at Citi Field; Johan going toe to toe with a prime Strasberg

I was literally just looking up this guy yesterday Doing research on players with 4-6 years of dominance

I was there for Puig’s debut and the Chase Utley slide game

Johan was my ace growing up to as a Twins fan. Haven't had an ace since then. So much fun, should've had 3 straight cy youngs. Unfortunate he will never get voted into the HOF

He was the best pitcher in the game when I started baseball and it's a shame I didn't get to see enough of it at his prime. I wish he stayed healthy enough to accumulate more stats for the HoF.

My top 2 “I was there” moments have to be 2019 ALCS game 5 and Jeter’s final home game in 2014

Would love to see an in depth vid on the 2016 cubs or the 2011 cardinals which I think are the two more memorable runs of the 2010s

Johan in his Cy Young season was crazy - his stats after ASG were ridiculous

big time marlins fan huge Cytana fan fav player ever!!! de venezuela pal mundo!!

Skipped my last game of 8th grade baseball to go to the no-Han game. Best decision of my life

My favorite pitcher to use in MLB 2K8

One of my favorite MLB pitchers as a kid

Randy Joh sons No-no in Atlanta. I was upset as a young kid. I look back fondly now. Also, every bad cardinals playoff lose for the braves. 10 run 1st,l and the outfield fly. Other wise I'm general spoiled, 2 ws series and plenty of fun games I've been too over the years.

One of the best to ever do it hands down

A beast! Santana was the man. Longer career than Lincecum and similar to Koufax as others have already mentioned. Defintely got screwed early with HOF voting

I saw Scherzer no hit the Mets in person at citi field that was pretty cool even as a Mets fan. Johan was a fun dude to watch growing up

Also a video on the 2006 Tigers would be appreciated as a Tigers fan 🙏

I just learned Bartolo Colon a cy young. 10/10 video

I remember reading a children’s magazine article that was covering the 50 best players in the league at that time (around 2005 or 06). I only remember the Top 3: in order, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and Johan Santana. How bizarre things turned out.

It seems we forget just how many innings pitchers mowed through in the 2000s

My "i was there" moment was Encarnacion's 3 hr game

I was at the Phil’s v Mets game 1May, 2011. I was also at the 08 and 09 world series

“…everyone remembers the ace of the first baseball team they followed.” Danny Duffy.

Johan was legendary. That changeup made his fastball look about 112mph. Lol. Very good with the Twins. But by the time he went to the Mets he definitely wasn’t the same pitcher. The Phils beat up on him quite a bit it seemed.

This is the type of guy that where he played hurt his legacy. If he played in a big market through that run he would have been considered one of the greatest of all time

Twins legend! Should be a hall a famer!

Mike mussina is the “ace of the first team I followed” that I remember

I was there for Castillo dropped ball game, my first game ever, it was awesome as a child yankee fan

He needs to be in the hall of fame

0:06 hey I was there!

you should make a video about luis severino and how great he was and now he has a long injury history

Could you do a video on Pujols and Cabrera? Something about how we could never see a hitter join the 500/3000 club again

Carlos Zambrano was mine, along with a bunch of other Chicago kids at the time 😊