Switch-Hitter Carlos Santana Makes History With 300th Career Home Run
The Milwaukee Brewers may have to wait another day to clinch the NL Central crown, but veteran Carlos Santana still managed to come through in a big way Saturday.
The Brewers were down 4-1 in the sixth inning until Santana tied things up with a three-run shot to center. Even though the Miami Marlins answered late to win 5-4, it still marked a major milestone for Santana.
It was home run No. 300 for Santana in his career, just one week after he recorded his 1,000th career RBI.
Santana is now the 10th switch-hitter in American League/National League history to reach 300 home runs, according to MLB Stats. The 37-year-old catcher-turned-first baseman is the 159th player overall to join the 300-home run club.
Santana broke into the big leagues with the Cleveland Indians in 2010 and was an everyday player for the club through 2017. After one year with the Philadelphia Phillies, Santana returned to Cleveland to make his first career All-Star Game and win his only Silver Slugger in 2019.
The slugger signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2021, then got traded to the Seattle Mariners in 2022. Santana started the 2023 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, only to get dealt to the Brewers ahead of the trade deadline.
Santana has been an iron man over the course of his career, appearing in 1,607 of a possible 1,680 games from 2011 to 2021. Even as he reaches his late 30s, Santana still appeared in 131 games in 2022 and 140 thus far in 2023.
With a week left in the season, Santana is batting .235 with 22 home runs, 81 RBI and a .733 OPS. For his career, Santana is a .242 hitter with a .787 OPS.
Santana ranks 13th among active players in home runs, as well as 10th in RBI and 15th in hits.
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