Cubs fan returns Santana’s milestone ball
MIAMI – Carlos Santana was emotional after homering on Saturday afternoon.
It didn't help deliver the Milwaukee Brewers a victory – they fell to the Miami Marlins, 5-4, at loanDepot park, extending their chase for the NL Central Division title at least to Sunday – but did move the 37-year-old slugger into some rarefied air.
The round-tripper was the 300th of Santana's 14-year career in the major leagues, ranking him 10th in baseball history among switch-hitters.
And with no reason to believe Santana won't be back for Year 15 (or maybe beyond), he should have a real shot at moving into at least eighth place with a decent 2024 with Reggie Smith (314) and Ruben Sierra (306) next on the list.
But as far as No. 300 goes, that's a nice round number and a milestone that any player would like to remember.
To that end, the ball that Santana hit off Marlins reliever AJ Puk landed over the wall in right-center, took one big hop and landed in the first row of seats – right at the feet at a surprised yet pleased Efren Toledo.
A Chicago Cubs fan, of all things. In Miami to visit his mother, Toledo headed to the Brewers-Marlins game on Sunday on a whim and thanks to a stroke of good luck ended up with a valuable piece of memorabilia in his possession.
He didn't throw it back on the field like most Wrigley Field faithful would.
Normally, a representative of the team celebrating the achievement will reach out to said fan and attempt to negotiate on behalf of the player.
That person for the Brewers is typically equipment manager Jason Shawger – as diligent and player-centric as they come.
But with Shawger and fellow staff members working furiously behind the scenes in the visitors' clubhouse in case the Brewers wound up clinching, some signals were crossed and Santana mistakenly believed that Toledo drove too hard a bargain.
Not the case.
As it turned out, Toledo was more than happy to hand the ball over to Santana after the game for nothing more than a handshake and a picture. Santana graciously obliged and then did him one better,
Santana is greeted by Christian Yelich (middle) and William Contreras after hitting his milestone homer against the Marlins on Saturday.
autographing and handing over one of his bats as a gesture of gratitude.
Both parties departed the ballpark more than satisfied with the exchange.
Toledo, also a Chicago resident, listed the Marlins as his second-favorite team
behind the Cubs, but he also gave Brewers manager Craig Counsell begrudging respect for the job he's done at the helm of his team's rival.
It's probably safe to say he'll now root a little harder for Santana as well.