Ervin Santana

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**Ervin Santana**
Major League Baseball debut
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim — No. 54
Starting pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
May 17, 2005 for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Selected MLB statistics (through October 1, 2006)
Record	28-16
ERA	4.42
WHIP	1.29
Strikeouts	240

Ervin Ramon Santana (born January 10, 1983 in La Romana, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

[edit] Career

Santana was a starting pitcher for the Angels' double-A affiliate, the Arkansas Travelers early in 2005, where he posted a 5-1 record and 2.31 ERA in 15 starts. Following an injury to Angels starting pitcher Kelvim Escobar, Santana earned a promotion. He made his first major league appearance on May 17, 2005. He was crushed by the Cleveland Indians in a game in which he gave up the pitching version of the cycle (single, double, triple, and a home run) in just his first inning.

He wowed Angel fans in the second start of his Major League career six days later. Facing the Chicago White Sox's Jon Garland (who at the time had the best record in baseball), Santana bested both and pitched a complete game shutout. He gave up only 5 hits and struck out 7 for his first career victory.

To many fans' surprise, that would be the last time Santana would pitch for the Angels for three weeks. With Escobar seemingly healthy following his stint on the disabled list and no room for him on the 25-man roster, Santana was sent back down to the minors. He still received a promotion from his Travelers days earlier in the season since he was sent to the Angels Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake Bees.

After Escobar's elbow problems became a recurring problem, he was placed back on the DL and Santana received his second call up to the majors. He pitched well enough to earn a spot on the playoff roster, but was initially left out of the four-man rotation. In the pivotal Game 5 of the American League Division Series of the playoffs against the New York Yankees, Angels ace Bartolo Colón went out with a shoulder injury in the second inning. Santana filled in as the surprise long reliever, and pitched 5-1/3 innings to earn his first playoff win in his first appearance.

His short rookie season with the Angels ended with 12 wins in the regular season, leading to speculation he could be a potential 20-game winner during the 2006 season.

Santana's nickname is "El Meneo", which, when translated to English, is "the shaker". He has been given this nickname due to the way his tall slender body sways when he walks.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Coaching Staff Rotation Bullpen Catchers Infielders Outfielders Disabled List:		Manager: Mike Scioscia • Bench: Ron Roenicke • Pitching: Mike Butcher Hitting: Mickey Hatcher • Bullpen: Orlando Mercado • First Base: Alfredo Griffin Third Base: Dino Ebel John Lackey • Ervin Santana • Joe Saunders • Kelvim Escobar • Jered Weaver Chris Bootcheck • Héctor Carrasco • Brendan Donnelly • Greg Jones Dustin Moseley • Chris Resop • Francisco Rodríguez • Scot Shields • Justin Speier Jeff Mathis • José Molina • Mike Napoli Erick Aybar • Orlando Cabrera • Chone Figgins • Maicer Izturis • Howie Kendrick Dallas McPherson • Kendry Morales • Robb Quinlan Garret Anderson • Darin Erstad • Vladimir Guerrero • Gary Matthews, Jr. • Tommy Murphy Juan Rivera • Reggie Willits Bartolo Colón • Casey Kotchman