Superstorm (is that a thing now?) Nemo will not stand in the way of NASBL news. Despite being pounded by more than a foot of snow, the VFS rumor mill keeps chugging along. To spare you the preamble, you can go here to see how we got to this point.
This time we honor Ervin Santana; a Sioux front line hurler for the past seven seasons. While his star never shone as bright as Ubaldo's, it did shine longer. In his Vermont tenure, Ervin went 59-58 and was part of the rotation for three playoff teams (2007, 2009, 2011), including his best season when he went 16-8 with a 2.85 ERA in 2009 and was the staff ace of a team that SOMEHOW BLEW A 3-0 LCS SERIES LEAD. "NO, I'M NOT STILL BITTER", said an enraged GM Justin Rabidoux.
Ervin leaves Vermont with a full trophy case of accolades.
His 182 games are tops in franchise history and he is also the career Sioux leader in IP (1,130) and Ks (872). His 59 wins were second only behind Ubaldo's 62 as were his 36 CGs, again, trailing only Ubaldo's 45. He also occupies prominent locations on the career leader board in ERA, Ks/9, H/9 and shutouts.
On a single season basis, Ervin's 17 CGs in 2009 is a franchise record and in a recurring theme his single season marks of 237 Ks and a 2.85 ERA are second only to Ubaldo.
Ultimately Santana's increasing proclivity to surrendering the long ball (his HRs allowed have increased in each of the past five MLB seasons, including a ghastly league high 39 in 2012) paved the way for his exit.
"Ervin will always hold a special place in our fans' heart for his competitive spirit and all the great memories he gave us. Unfortunately for him, his name is most linked in a Buckneresque manner with the great LCS collapse of '09 when he had two chances (Ed. note: Ervin started and won Game 1, but started and lost Games 4 & 7 of the series) to close out the series and win a title for what many consider the best Vermont team of all time", continues Rabidoux. "That team, while only finishing 91-71, made many end of the year trades and come playoff time had a murderous roster with all the parts necessary, and then some, to win the title. Who knows, if we had won, Albert Pujols would likely still be on the roster." (Ed. : He was traded to LVI that off-season in an attempt to get younger. Unfortunately for Rabidoux, younger has meant primarily Tommy Hanson and his career 24-36 record)
Sioux fans, as you're stumbling up and down Church Street tonight, pour one out for old Ervin.
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| This is how we'll choose to remember the great warrior that was Ervin Santana |
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