Perrotto: Dennis Santana Deserves a Mulligan

Dennis Santana was wrong.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ reliever took a swing at a fan sitting in the stands above the visitors’ bullpen at Comerica Park in Detroit during the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers. In videos posted to social media, Santana can be seen pointing out the fan to a police officer before jumping and swinging at the person.

Santana shouldn’t have done it.

A player should never initiate contact with a fan. Ever.

It doesn’t matter what the fan says or what the fan does; MLB uniformed personnel must be above engaging in physical confrontation with paying customers. That is non-negotiable.

MLB will almost certainly suspend Santana for the altercation. Pirates left fielder Tommy Pham received a one-game ban in April for making an obscene gesture at fans during a game against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim.

However, just because Santana made a mistake doesn’t mean that he is a bad guy. Far from it.

Santana is one of the Pirates’ friendliest players. He always has a smile on his face, is in a perpetually upbeat mood, and is extremely popular with his teammates.

I would be hard pressed to think of anyone in a Pirates’ uniform who would seem less likely to go after a fan.

Santana declined to answer when reporters asked what the fan said or did to elicit such an angry response. However, he did say that the fan “crossed the line.”

Everyone has their breaking point, and Santana reached his.

It also doesn’t help that crossing the line has become normalized.

The first breakdown of social discourse started with the increase of social media. People became emboldened to say whatever is on their mind, regardless of how uncouth or untruthful it might be, while often hiding behind an anonymous handle.

In recent years, it has become OK to say anything to people’s faces, regardless of how crass. I have a good idea of what has caused this, but I’m not going to break my vow of letting politics, regardless of the aisle, infiltrate baseball columns.

I’m as outspoken as anyone, and being honest has hurt my career. However, there are certain levels of decorum.

Players have always had to deal with negative comments and actions. The first boo came out of a fan’s mouth not long after the words “play ball” were first yelled by a home plate umpire.

It’s all part of the job, and players accept that. However, the abuse is starting to get out of hand.

Earlier this month, Lance McCullers Jr. had 24-hour security assigned to his family by the Houston Astros after a fan threatened to kill the pitcher’s 5-year-old daughter in a social media post. It turned out to be a drunken fan who was upset about losing a bet in a game McCullers pitched, and no charges were filed.

Still, it was a sobering situation.

It seems doubtful Santana’s kerfuffle had anything to do with gambling.

However, I’ve spoken with players who say things said to them by fans are viler every year and have especially increased since the pandemic ended in 2021. The rise of legalized sports betting in the United States has something to do with it, and I’m certain there are other sociological or psychological reasons, though I’m not smart enough to know what they are.

What I do know is that Dennis Santana is a good guy who got pushed to the brink. One unfortunate episode – and likely suspension- shouldn’t change anyone’s perception