Santana gets hero's welcome
The house lights dimmed, music was turned up and a video montage of Johan Santana highlights started rolling on a screen so wide you could almost see the seams on every pitch.
Every minute or so, the string of strikeouts was interrupted by a famous New Yorker welcoming Santana to the Big Apple. There was Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Seinfeld.
The Mets spent big money on their new ace last week and then choreographed a lavish introduction Wednesday at Shea Stadium's Diamond Club, set to some familiar guitar riffs by rock star Carlos Santana.
When it was over, the other Santana -- the one with two Cy Young Awards -- smiled as he pulled on his No. 57 jersey and blue New York Mets cap for the first time.
"It's a new chapter in my career," he said. "I'm going to make my time here special."
After an extended photo shoot and a brief statement, Santana fielded questions at a news conference packed with 139 credentialed media members. The former Minnesota Twins star answered many with cliches, saying he would take things one step at a time and success was a team effort.
Still, he appeared perfectly comfortable at the center of the swarm.
"I spent eight years in the American League. You have to make a lot of adjustments," Santana said as his wife and father looked on. "Now, in the National League, it's going to be a learning process. But I'll be ready."
He also understands that Mets fans demand a World Series championship -- or at least an NL pennant -- immediately following last year's September collapse.
"That's what we're here for," Santana said. "I think we've got the right guys to do it."
The left-hander insisted he doesn't anticipate much difficulty in adapting to New York, though other stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Carlos Beltran have needed time to get comfortable.
"I think the game is the same," Santana said. "I'm not going to let that affect what I do on the field.
"Coming to New York, you know you're going to have a chance to win. And that's what I want," he added. "It wasn't a tough decision."
Ryan new Rangers president: Twenty years later, Nolan Ryan's job is to once again revitalize the Texas Rangers. The Rangers introduced the Hall of Fame pitcher as team president Wednesday with the fanfare of a major free-agent pickup, just as Ryan was in 1988 when Texas signed the right-hander to help fill seats and bring wins to the struggling franchise.
Only now, the 61-year-old career strikeout leader who set many of his greatest milestones in a Rangers jersey is tasked with doing the same from the front office.
"Another thing in my career that I never anticipated," Ryan said. "You really wonder where baseball and life is going to take you."
Ryan threw an unmatched seven no-hitters and won 324 games in a record 27 major-league seasons. The last five of those came with the Rangers and included his final two no-hitters and 5,000th strikeout.
Texas owner Tom Hicks, whose team has finished no better than third in the AL West since 2000, called the hiring a pivotal point in club history. Ryan retired with the Rangers in 1993, leaving the game as a fan favorite who was as well known for his sizzling fastball as his toughness and work ethic.
"Nolan is the biggest hero we've ever had as an organization," Hicks said. "He's our hero. He's also a guy who happens to be a very successful businessman."
Chulk, Giants avoid arbitration: Reliever Vinnie Chulk and the San Francisco Giants agreed to an $837,500 contract for this season, avoiding salary arbitration. Chulk went 5-4 with a 3.57 ERA in 57 relief appearances for the Giants last season, striking out 41 batters and walking 14 in 53 innings. He missed the final five weeks of the season with a blood clot in his right hand.