MINNEAPOLIS — I’ve been waiting 19 years to write this story. And you’ve been waiting 19 years to read it.
Johan Santana threw seven shutout innings to defeat the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium, in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Oct. 5, 2004. It marked the Minnesota Twins’ third straight season with a playoff win and was their sixth total postseason victory in three years.
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I watched the game from my dorm at the University of Minnesota, an excited but nervous journalism student with visions of becoming a professional baseball writer. I had a blog and a tiny audience, most of which came from writing about Santana’s incredible journey from Rule 5 pick to the best pitcher in the world.
“Free Johan!” was my constant rallying cry as I advocated for the Twins to make him a full-time member of the rotation in 2002 and 2003, and then chronicled his rise to stardom once they finally did. Santana’s greatness gave me a topic to write passionately about and a growing audience that convinced me doing this for a living might actually be possible. He jump-started my dream.
2004 ALDS Game 1.@johansantana against Yankees.
7.0 IP, 9 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 Kpic.twitter.com/nSv360QS0h
— Twins Gems (@TwinsGems) October 4, 2023
Three thousand miles away, in Santana’s home of Venezuela, a kid named Pablo López was becoming similarly obsessed with the Twins’ superstar southpaw.
López idolized Santana, not as a Twins fan or an aspiring baseball writer, but as a young pitcher in their shared homeland with big-league fantasies who could now see a real path to get there. Santana jump-started his dream, too.
When the Twins acquired López in a risky mid-January trade with the Miami Marlins, parting with reigning batting champion and fan favorite Luis Arraez because they believed the 27-year-old right-hander had No. 1 starter upside, he could barely hold back his excitement to wear the same uniform as Santana.
“Every kid in Venezuela grew up a Johan Santana fan,” López said hours after learning of the trade. “As a youngster, I have vivid memories of watching him in a Twins uniform. I’m just very, very excited to be a Minnesota Twin.”
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Nine months later, after López recorded his 234th strikeout of the season, the most by a Twins pitcher since Santana, he again reflected on how special it felt to do it wearing the same uniform as his childhood idol.
“That means a lot to me,” López said in September. “Any time my name is next to Santana in any way, in any category, anything, it means a lot to me. I grew up idolizing him. I’m just happy and proud. It means a lot to be a Twin. That’s the uniform he wore for a really long time. It just makes me really happy.”
By the time Santana shut down the Yankees on Oct. 5, 2004, everyone from Minneapolis to Cabimas knew how special he was. What no one could have possibly guessed at the moment was that it would be almost 19 years — 6,938 days, to be exact — until the Twins won another playoff game.
And when the Twins finally, mercifully did it Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, winning 3-1 at Target Field to end the longest postseason losing streak in North American professional sports history, it was behind Royce Lewis at the plate and López on the mound.
Better yet, López decided to literally wear the same uniform before his Game 1 start, arriving at the ballpark sporting a vintage Santana jersey.
🇻🇪🇻🇪🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/7K0YNJrN0D
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 3, 2023
Asked afterward if he was given the Santana jersey to wear or already owned it, López smiled and nodded sheepishly. It was in his closet.
“Some people believe in fate, some people believe that the things we do today drive what we do tomorrow,” López said. “And sometimes, things line up too perfectly to pass up on those opportunities.”
López showed up dressed as Santana and then he pitched like him too, taking a shutout into the sixth inning before finishing with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball to earn the Twins’ first playoff win since Johan beat the Yankees.
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It was, truly, the stuff you dream about.
“Without pressure, there is no expectation,” López said. “Pressure is a privilege. Just understanding that mentality and using it in our favor. You always want to feel some pressure, because that means there’s an opportunity to do something amazing. I felt it. I acknowledged it. I accepted it. And then I put it on my shoulders and tried to go with it.”
López heard plenty about the 0-18 playoff streak all season. No player joining the Twins can avoid it. But he always seemed to view it a different way, through the lens of his childhood Santana fandom and saw it as an opportunity to bring the same type of joy to Twins fans that his idol once did.
“This game meant a lot to us for many reasons, and we just wanted to put an end to something that was very important to our beloved fans,” López said. “It was an unfortunate streak and I’m sorry so many people had to suffer through it. Fans have been so great to us. They support us. They root for us no matter the situation. It just felt right giving this to them.”
Pablo López, 96mph ⛽️
3rd K pic.twitter.com/pcmtj7hL5C
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 3, 2023
Caleb Thielbar was once one of those fans who suffered through the frustrating playoff losses. One of three native Minnesotans on the team, along with rookies Louie Varland and Matt Wallner, the 36-year-old setup man is a lifelong Twins fan who was born in Northfield, went to high school in Randolph and pitched for the St. Paul Saints when they were still an independent league team.
Thielbar pitched a 1-2-3 top of the seventh inning for the Twins in Game 1, another childhood dream fulfilled and another player with a real sense of how one win can mean so much to a fan base.
“It’s been a long time,” Thielbar said. “I was a senior in high school in 2004. I remember the (Santana) game. I have experienced everything that all the fans have, too. This was my team growing up. It’s still my team. I know how people feel and I know what weight was lifted off everyone’s backs today.”
Twins fans waited 19 years for that one win. López could feel it. Thielbar could feel it. Everyone in the ballpark could feel it. They’ve waited even longer to win a playoff series. I’m hoping to write that story next.
(Photo: David Berding / Getty Images)