Have a Nice Walk? Santiago Won’t Say

SAN DIEGO —  The man walked, but he didn’t talk.

In the Padres’ 7-3 loss to Chicago Thursday afternoon at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, catcher Benito Santiago had the kind of game at the plate that tickles Manager Jack McKeon no end.

But Santiago left quickly afterward, wearing a four-strikeout frown. If you had a pen and notebook in your hand, you didn’t get into any in-depth discussions with this Padre catcher.

Funny thing was, Santiago didn’t strike out at all. He went one for one. And the big news was that he walked three times.

Santiago walks only slightly more often than McKeon skips his post-game cigar. McKeon has not come to expect Santiago to be trotting down to first after ball four.

McKeon has been telling him to take a longer look at the plate. Considering Santiago hadn’t had three walks in a game since May 31, 1988, at Philadelphia, maybe he’s just beginning to pay heed.

“He gets three walks and a base hit, and his batting average jumps three points,” McKeon said. “He was very selective up there. I was very proud of him today.”

And surprised?

“Well, to be honest with you, yes. He’s aggressive, and you can’t take that away from him.”

Can’t make him talk if he doesn’t want to, either. Approached after the game, Santiago was asked if he had a minute to chat.

“What do you want to know?” he said.

“How about those three walks?” he was asked.

“No, I don’t want to say anything.”

Case closed.

It could be that Santiago has read one too many stories that have called for him to be shipped out of town, or that say he isn’t on good terms with his manager. Hard to say. He wouldn’t.

McKeon can speculate. He got back from the All-Star game, where he was the National League’s first base coach, and read a story that said he and Santiago aren’t even exchanging hellos. To that, McKeon replied: “I was the one who gave him directions on how to get to Anaheim.” Santiago was the NL’s starting catcher.

“I probably communicate more with him than I do with the other guys,” he said. “Somebody was trying to make something out of nothing.”

Hidden behind all of this is what’s really important. Santiago is making do with a season of frustrations. His average, despite the three-point improvement, is still only .239, which is why he was moved from the middle of the order to eighth. His average is 61 points below his .300 finish two seasons ago, nine below what was considered a down year in 1988.

As to whether Santiago is headed in the right direction or not, you had to turn to a teammate. Tony Gwynn, who knows a bit about hitting, said Santiago will be fine if he keeps doing what he did Thursday.

“To get out of a rut, you have to be more selective,” Gwynn said. “I think that’s what he tried to do today. You have to be selective in order to hit the ball.”

Whether he hits or not, walks or not, talks or not, remember this man can play defense with polish. He had a passed ball and an error Thursday, but fans who had given up on the Padres and left before the final out missed some of his more typical work behind the plate.

In the top of the ninth, Chicago’s Mark Grace sent a little dribbler rolling down the first-base line. A split second before it headed into foul territory, Santiago pounced on it and threw to Carmelo Martinez for the out. It won’t make many highlight films, but those who were left at the park probably had a few words to say about it.

Certainly, a few more words than Santiago did.