KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Three months and a day after being hit with an 80-game steroid suspension, Ervin Santana finally returned to the Twins clubhouse on Saturday afternoon.
His Independence Day agenda included meeting with Twin Cities media for the first time since the stunning news of April 3, three days before the Twins’ season opener in Detroit.
“It was tough, like every other bad news that everybody gets,” the Dominican right-hander said in the visiting dugout at Kauffman Stadium. “But at the same time, you just have to sit back and just try to get that time to do something productive. Basically I spent a lot of time with my family and everything has been very good.”
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He spent the bulk of his suspension with his wife Amy and their two young children at their Clearwater, Fla., home, was asked how he explained to Jonathan, 6, and Sofia, 4, why their father was home for the first half of the season.
“They know,” Santana said. “I just have to be honest and (truthful) and tell them everything, and they love me because of that. I don’t have to lie to them. That’s the big thing for me. I don’t lie to anybody. I don’t like to lie to anybody. If I have to tell you the truth, I tell you the truth.”
What’s the lesson of this suspension for his children?
“Nothing,” said Santana, 32. “Like every other father would say, ‘Don’t do bad things,’ you know, and then that’s it. Just love them a lot, and I can’t wait to be with them right now.”
Did Santana feel he did a “bad thing” in triggering a positive drug test for the old-school drug Stanozolol?
“What do you think?” he said, flashing a huge grin.
The 11th-year veteran was told that the media did not know.
“Well, me neither,” he said. “Just leave it like that. That’s in the past and I’m just moving forward and I’m happy to be back.”
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Surprisingly, Santana insisted he had no regrets as he prepares to make his season debut Sunday in the series finale against the Kansas City Royals, his 2013 employer.
“Not at all. Not at all. Not at all,” he said. “I’m just very happy.”
Santana reportedly did not appeal his suspension. He was asked why not.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just have to keep it how it is and I’m just happy.”
Santana’s suspension also includes a 2015 postseason ban, which would keep him from being at the ballpark as well as from being on the active roster. Should the Twins play a Game 163 for the third time in the past decade, Santana would be ineligible for that as well.
“It’s tough,” he said. “But at the same time I’ll be cheering for them and wish the best for our team. For right now we just have to focus and when that time comes we’ll figure it out.”
He said “nothing really” when asked the toughest part of his ordeal.
“I just missed the team and that’s it,” he said. “That’s the tough part, but I’m back and I just can’t wait to pitch.”
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Were there things he had to sort out mentally or people he had to remove from his inner circle?
“Not at all. Nothing at all,” he said. “Just trying to be me and be happy. I’m always smiling like nothing happened. That’s in the past. I’m just trying to move forward. That’s what I’m here for.”
Signed to a four-year, $55 million contract in December, Santana forfeited $6.64 million in the 90 service days he missed. The surprising Twins went 42-38 in his absence.
The Pioneer Press is a media partner with Forum News Service.
