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| FN Editor With Santiago |
José Santiago—a major contributor to the
Impossible Dream team of 1967—turns 78 years-old today. Santiago is remembered as the pitcher who delivered a win in seven stellar innings on the day
before the Red Sox (and
Jim Lonborg) clinched a tie for the AL pennant with another win. Without José's efforts in that key win, the Lonborg game would have been moot—and
Red Sox Nation may have never come into being. While
The Carmine Hose failed to win the World Series, Santiago went toe-to-toe with the great
Bob Gibson in Game One (7 IP, 2 ERs)—an eventual tight 2-1 win for St. Louis. Even
more amazing was that Boston's lone run came off the bat of Santiago—a solo blast off eventual Hall-Of-Famer Gibson in the third inning. In his five seasons with the Red Sox, Santiago went 33-23 with a 3.42 ERA. Your humble scribe was lucky enough to have José as one his coaches at the
1992 Red Sox Fantasy Camp in Winter Haven, Florida (see photo). He was a great mentor and a perfect compliment to the
other coach in our dugout—
Jerry Remy.
Happy birthday, Mr. Santiago!
