Carlos Santana Gets Hit in Head By Minnesota Twins' Viral Home Run Sausage

The Minnesota Twins have been bringing a good luck sausage to games for a few weeks now, but Carlos Santana didn't see it coming after he hit a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.

May 10, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Twins first baseman Carlos Santana (30) rounds the bases. | John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

For several weeks now, the Minnesota Twins have been keeping a tangy summer sausage in their dugout, tossing it to players who go yard when they make their way back to the dugout.

The ritual has gone viral, leading to exposes and apparel surrounding the cured meat, but first baseman Carlos Santana still didn't see it coming Friday.

Santana hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays, putting his team up 2-1. After he crossed home plate and high-fived a few teammates, someone launched the hallowed sausage Santana's way.

It bounced right off the top of Santana's helmet, leaving the veteran slugger to look around in confusion as he rejoined his teammates in the dugout.

Carlos Santana wasn't ready, the Twins HR sausage bounced off his helmet 😂 (r @wintwins) pic.twitter.com/FdDpSFvq6H

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) May 11, 2024

Santana is no stranger to the sausage toss, considering he was one of the first players to take part in the long-running bit. He homered in four out of five games in late April, when Minnesota's offense first came to life and first started leaning on the superstition.

The gag started when infielder Kyle Farmer left an unopened sausage on a table in the clubhouse. From there, hitting coach David Popkins brought it to the dugout and had players tap it before at-bats.

Fans online loved it when the Twins started tossing it around after homers, partially because it lined up with a 12-game winning streak.

That winning streak has since come to an end, but Minnesota is still 16-2 since April 22. The offense has scored an average of 6.4 runs per game in that span, compared to just 3.4 before.

Santana, meanwhile, is batting .250 with five home runs, 13 RBI and an .855 OPS since the sausage made its debut. Before that, he was batting .133 with zero home runs, two RBI and a .374 OPS.

The Twins and Blue Jays are set to continue their series Saturday at 3:07 p.m. ET, and perhaps Santana will be slightly more aware of his surroundings this time around.

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