How did the Minnesota Twins develop Johan Santana into the pitcher he is today?

Question

Please give specifics if possible.

If possible please give specifics about how the Twins coached Santana (both mentally and technically).

Answer 1

Patience. They did not rush him along, much like they did with Liriano this year. Started him as a reliever, then made him a starter. Less innings in his young career, and less pressure.

Answer 2

I wish I had a good answer, but I really don't know. Prior to this season I would have said that Santana is just naturally that good, but with the emergence of Fransico Liriano, who is basically Santana's clone, there must be something special going on with the Twins. I mean, look at all the injuries and set backs that starting rotation has had. A shaky beginning of the year for everyone but Santana, Radke and Liriano getting injured, Silva struggling, and having to rely on three unproven rookies and through all of it this team will make the playoffs in a very tough division. There clearly is something special going on in Minnesota, but I really don't know what.

Answer 3

The turning point in Santana's career came in 2004, when the Twins had Henry Blanco behind the plate. There's no better catcher in baseball when it comes to direct pitchers. Why do you think he was the pet catcher for Santana after he did the same job for Greg Madduxx in Atlanta? Last year I saw him catching for the Caracas Lions in Venezuela's winter ball and he lead the team to both the National and the Caribbean championships by obtaining the most out of an unproven pitching staff. It's amazing to see him catching.
But, if you don't believe me, go ask Santana himself. He's always telling the same thing about Blanco. He's now doing for Carlos Zambrano the same thing.
By the way, Santana, Blanco and Zambrano are all from Venezuela.

Answer 4

Easy.

The Twins let the Astros draft and develop him and then picked him up in the Rule 5 draft before the 2000 season. The rest is history!