Nelson Gil Santovenia Mayol (born July 27, 1961), is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

from 1987 to 1993. He played college baseball at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. He is currently the hitting coach for the

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

High school and college

Santovenia attended high school at

Miami Southridge High School Miami Southridge Senior High School is a secondary school located in South Miami Heights, Florida (Miami postal address). Its current principal is Humberto J. Miret. The school serves ninth through twelfth grade students in a mostly unincorporat ...

, graduating in 1979. Upon graduation, he was drafted by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the 29th round of the 1979 amateur draft, but did not sign with them. Santovenia played college baseball for

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

for two years, then transferred to the

. In 1980, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was drafted by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in the 3rd round of the

1981 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33r ...

, but did not sign with the team. In his one year at Miami, Santovenia was a member of the

Miami Hurricanes baseball The Miami Hurricanes baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Since 1973, the program has been one of college baseball's elite with 25 College World Series appearances, winnin ...

championship team in 1982. In the final game of the

1982 College World Series The 1982 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1982 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, ...

, Miami beat

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, 9–3, and Santovenia was named to the all-tournament team for his role in the series. As a result of his playing he was drafted in the secondary phase of the 1982 draft, again by the Expos, with the 19th pick in the first round.

Professional career

Upon signing with the Expos, Santovenia spent his first season as a member of the

West Palm Beach Expos The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida. History The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and pla ...

, playing alongside future star

Andrés Galarraga Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), At ...

. He played 40 games in West Palm Beach in 1982, and spent the full 1983 season with the

Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to: *Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960 *Memphis Chicks (Southern League) The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...

. After spending the 1984 season with the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, he spent the next two seasons moving between the AA-level Suns and the AAA-level

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. Santovenia spent most of the 1987 season with the Suns, playing 117 games for them. He had a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .279, hit 19

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and had a

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

of .467. Santovenia made his major league debut on September 16, 1987, against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He came in to give regular catcher Mike Fitzgerald some rest, and caught the ninth inning; his second and final appearance of the season came two days later against the

, when he came in as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, getting his only at-bat of the season. The following two seasons saw Santovenia splitting time at catcher with Fitzgerald. On July 28, 1989, Vince Coleman of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

was

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

by Santovenia, ending Coleman's Major League streak of 50 consecutive

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. He played in 92 games during the 1988 Montreal Expos season with a .236 batting average and eight

s, and played in 97 games during the

1989 Montreal Expos season The 1989 Montreal Expos season was the 21st season of the baseball franchise. With owner Charles Bronfman thinking of selling the team he founded, he contemplated taking one last shot at a playoff berth. Bronfman gave young general manager Dave D ...

with a .250 batting average. However, by 1990 Santovenia's average had dipped below the

mendoza line The Mendoza Line is baseball jargon for a sub-.200 batting average, the supposed minimum threshold for competence at the Major League level. It derives from light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who failed to reach .200 five times in his nine b ...

. He hit .190 that season in 59 games, and in 1991 he split time between Indianapolis and Montreal, hitting .261 and .250, respectively. On December 9, 1991, Santovenia was released by the Montreal Expos, and on February 3, 1992, he signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox. He played in two games for the White Sox and played 91 games with the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

in 1992, then was released. He signed with the Kansas City Royals as a free agent on December 10, 1992. Santovenia spent most of the season with the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, and spent four games with Kansas City in 1993, his final major league appearance coming on October 2, 1993. After another season with Omaha, where he hit .164 in 45 games, he retired.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
o

o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santovenia, Nelson 1961 births Living people Chicago White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in Canada Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Memphis Chicks players Miami Dade College alumni Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Miami Hurricanes baseball players Minor league baseball coaches Montreal Expos players Omaha Royals players Orleans Firebirds players People from Pinar del Río Tiburones de La Guaira players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Venezuela University of Miami alumni Vancouver Canadians players West Palm Beach Expos players Miami Southridge Senior High School alumni