Pirates Pitcher Addresses Fight with Fan

Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reported that the Tigers said they ejected the fan from the ballpark.

Santana eventually came into the game for the Pirates in the bottom of the ninth inning, but had his appearance stopped due to a more than 70 minute rain delay. The Pirates had fellow right-handed pitcher David Bednar come in relief when play restarted.

He spoke with reporters after the game and said that it happened around the seventh inning. He also said that he's never had an incident like this before in his eight seasons at the MLB level.

“You guys know me," Santana said through interpreter Stephen Morales. "I’m a calm demeanor type of person. I’ve never had any issues with any other teams that I’ve played for and I guess the guy crossed the line a few times, but I would not like to go into it.”

Santana emphasized on the fan "crossing the line" throughout the interview and that while he shouldn't have retaliated, he couldn't deal with the heckling.

He also spoke to Pirates manager Don Kelly and that he wants to move past this quickly and remind everyone that he's not this kind of player.

“We already talked about this and I’ve told him that I regret what I did, but I’m a professional and we’ll leave it like that.”

Santana has had a great season for the Pirates, with a 1.72 ERA over 31.1 innings pitched and 32 appearances, 25 strikeouts to five walks, an opposing batting average of .191 and a WHIP of 0.83.

The Pirates claimed Santana off of waivers from the New York Yankees on June 11, 2024 and selected his contract on June 13.

Santana had a strong finish to last season, with a 1-1 record in 39 games, a 2.44 ERA over 44.1 innings pitched, 50 strikeouts to 11 walks and an opposing batting average of .192.

Tommy Pham, who was a pinch-runner for the Pirates in the eventual 8-4 win in extra innings, also got into it with a fan behind home plate which also resulted in another ejection.