Víctor Irving Santos (born 2 October 1976 or possibly earlier) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

from to .

Early life

Santos was born in

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. As with many Dominican players, it is unclear whether Santos's official age is accurate. His biography lists that he graduated from

Passaic High School Passaic High School is a four-year community public high school, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the ...

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

in 1995, though Santos was a four-year starter on the baseball team at Saint Peter's College in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and N ...

baseball tournament, where he was the winning pitcher twice in the Peacocks' three-game sweep. Santos is the first former Peacock baseball player to reach the majors.

Professional career

Santos signed with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

as a non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 1995. In 2001, Santos was named Tigers Rookie of the Year. Although he allowed some unearned runs, Santos posted a 0.00

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

over his first 27.1

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

in the majors, the longest such streak to start a career since

Fernando Valenzuela Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered f ...

of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in 1980–81 (34 innings). For his effort, he was named Detroit rookie of the year by the Detroit Sports

Broadcasters Broadcaster may refer to: * A presenter of any syndicated media program * A broadcasting organization, one responsible for audio and video content and/or their transmission * A sports commentator on television or radio * Broadcaster, currently ...

Association. Santos was traded to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for

José Paniagua José Luis Paniagua Sánchez (born August 20, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He appeared in Major League Baseball from 1996 through 2003 with the Montreal Expos, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Wh ...

in 2002 and acquired by the Texas Rangers before the 2003 season. Then he signed a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contract with the Milwaukee Brewers before being called up for the 2004 season, where he earned his way onto the starting rotation. After two years with Milwaukee, he made an unusual route via the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and the Rule 5 draft onto the major-league roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2006 season. The Pirates granted him free agency on October 6, 2006, immediately after the 2006 season ended. On January 8, 2007 he signed a minor league deal with the Reds. On September 7, 2007 he was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

for cash considerations. Santos elected free agency on October 12, 2007. On January 11, 2008, Santos signed with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

to a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season. After splitting the 2009 season between the independent

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

and the

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

, he played with the Vaqueros again in 2010, appearing in 10 games with a 3-4 record.

Personal life

Santos has been a resident of

Woodland Park, New Jersey Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 13,484. What is now Woodland P ...

.Idec, Keith
"Back to basics - Ex-big leaguer Santos trying to keep his time in minors short"
''

Herald News The ''Herald News'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper headquartered in Woodland Park, New Jersey, that focuses on the Passaic County, New Jersey area. Today's ''Herald News'' is descended from several papers, but did not come to be until two Pass ...

'', May 26, 2008. Accessed November 12, 2013. "'Basically I've been going out there, giving this team a chance to win and showing them that I'm still solid, so they can give me a call up to the big leagues,' said Santos, who owns a home in West Paterson."

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Victor 1976 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Jersey Cañeros de Los Mochis players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Lakeland Tigers players Leones del Escogido players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Navegantes del Magallanes players Newark Bears players Oklahoma RedHawks players Passaic High School alumni Sportspeople from San Pedro de Macorís People from Woodland Park, New Jersey Pittsburgh Pirates players Saint Peter's Peacocks baseball players Senadores de San Juan players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Puerto Rico Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey Texas Rangers players Vaqueros Laguna players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela