 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Benito backs Bonds Santiago continues stellar October with three RBIsPosted: Friday October 25, 2002 12:30 AMUpdated: Friday October 25, 2002 4:55 AM
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Benito Santiago is the enforcer. Pitch around Barry Bonds, and he shows you up. Without him, the Angels might have been home already with the World Series trophy. With him, the Giants are one victory from San Francisco's first title. While Bonds spends most of the postseason on the rubber-chicken circuit, jogging to first base following walks as fans wave faux fowl at opposing teams, Santiago keeps driving in the runs. The ol' catcher, stitched back together by doctors and as productive as ever, had three RBIs Thursday night as the Giants beat Anaheim 16-4 for a 3-2 World Series lead. "I love it, man. I love it," Santiago said, his diamond stud earrings sparkling under the spotlights. "Keep walking the guy and putting the bases load. I have a chance to do some damage." His 16 RBIs in the postseason are the biggest reason the Giants are one game from their first Series title since 1954, when they played at the Polo Grounds in New York. And here's a twist: In the sixth inning, the Angels even gave him an intentional walk. "Benny's going a great job hitting behind Barry, which isn't easy," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "He's going to have opportunities, and most of the time, Benny has come through." At 37 -- an age most catchers are retired, playing first base or in the American League as designated hitters -- Santiago has become a renaissance man, a comeback story to be savored. His body still lean but his face lined with wrinkles, the tattoo of Jose M. Santiago on his left biceps somewhat faded, he shows that the knowledge of experience can overcome the lost reflexes of youth. His first-inning sacrifice fly followed Bonds' RBI double and gave the Giants a 2-0 lead. It was the first time in the World Series that Big Barry got a hit that didn't fly over a fence. Then in the second, Bonds was intentionally walked for the sixth time in the Series, the 10th time overall. Santiago promptly hit a two-run single up the middle for a 5-0 lead. Here's why Santiago's hits have meant the most: He's hitting .545 (6-for-11) in the postseason following intentional walks to Bonds with a walk, a home run and nine RBIs. And with runners in scoring position during the postseason, Santiago is batting .421. In Game 4, he followed walks to Bonds with inning-ending double plays in the first and third innings. "When I hit into the second double play, I didn't even want to go back to the dugout," Santiago said. "I felt like jumping into the stands and sitting with the fans." He regrouped his thoughts, following the third intentional walk with a tying single in the fifth. "Last night, I didn't have my concentration up there," he said. Most of the year, he's backed Bonds with hits. In August, when Pittsburgh gave Bonds' his record-breaking 46th intentional walk, Santiago followed with a grand slam. The NL Rookie of the Year in 1987, Santiago was a four-time All-Star from 1989-92, then didn't make it back until this year. It took him four years to come all the way back from a 1998 auto accident that broke a knee and his pelvis, and he was joyful after winning the MVP award in the NL Championship Series. "This is a dream come true," he said. "This is what you play for. It's been a long time behind the plate taking foul tips." And now he's one win away the biggest thrill in baseball. A few years ago, it seemed like an impossibility. And, with a blowout Thursday, he even could relax.
"It's a lot easier for me behind the plate," he said. "I don't have to keep worrying what finger to be putting down.
Sometimes, you go home with a headache."
|
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
