Anthony Santander


Anthony Roger Santander is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.

Career

Cleveland Indians

Santander signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2011. He made his professional debut in 2012 for the Arizona League Indians. From 2013 to 2015 he played for the Lake County Captains. He injured his right elbow in 2013, and missed part of the 2014 season—when he batted.184/.260/.270 for the Captains—with a right elbow strain. He also played in eight games for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in 2015. Santander spent 2016 with the Lynchburg Hillcats where he posted a.290 batting average with 20 home runs and 95 RBIs.

Baltimore Orioles

Santander was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2016 Rule 5 draft. He made his major league debut on August 18, 2017, at Camden Yards, Baltimore against the Los Angeles Angels. In 30 at bats he batted.267/.258/.367.
Santander became a favorite of over 4,000 scouts and girl guides from the United Kingdom who had followed their trip to the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia by attending the Orioles' 6-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards on August 4, 2019. Seated in the left field lower deck right behind him, the scouts boisterously cheered for him whenever he caught a fly ball for almost the entire game after he had thrown a baseball as a souvenir to them early in the contest. The Orioles responded to the exuberance by displaying a message on the center field video board referring to the scouts as the "Official International Anthony Santander Fan Club." He matched teammate Renato Núñez's achievement from eleven days prior with his own first-ever five-hit game in an 8-3 home win over the Tampa Bay Rays three weeks later on August 25. In 93 games, he hit 20 home runs with 59 runs batted in.