Johan Santana

Johan Alexander Santana Araque (born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher with the New York Mets. Before becoming a Met, Santana played for the Minnesota Twins from 2000-2007.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Twins, Santana is a four-time All-Star and earned a pitching triple crown in 2006. On June 1, 2012, Santana threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets franchise history.

Santana is the second of five children. Johan attended Liceo Jose Nucete Sardi High School, where he played center field. He and his wife, Yasmile, whom he has known since he was 9 years old, have two daughters and a son, Johan Jr. Santana missed the New York Mets' first regular season game at Citi Field due to the birth of his son. He and his family reside in Miromar Lakes, Florida in Lee County.

In 2006, he started The Johan Santana Foundation to provide assistance to hospitals and bought new gloves and bats for children in surrounding areas. Also in 2006, Santana, as well as the Minnesota Twins, purchased a yellow firetruck for Tovar's fire department. Santana has held a party the past two offseasons called El Cy Youngazo (the Great Cy Young) which includes a toy drive, musical groups, and beer from Santana's sponsor, Regional. Proceeds from Johan's charity wine, Santana's Select, also support his foundation in entirety.

In 2012, the Johan Santana Foundation expanded their efforts to reach the Hispanic community of New York by contributing to Tuesday's Children, an organization that has made a commitment to families impacted by 9/11, First Responders and their families, and most recently, individuals who have lost loved ones to terrorism around the world. Johan contributed $10,000 dollars, matched with $10,000 by the Mets through the New York Mets Foundation, to expand Tuesday's Children programming to include more resources for Spanish-speaking individuals and families impacted by 9/11. Source: wikipedia.org
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