A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

With both Johan Santana and Oliver Perez set to undergo surgery today, we turn to the 200 Miles From the Citi futurives (opposite of archives, I made it up) to see just how pivotal a day in Mets history this was.

July 28, 2025 - Cooperstown, NY - Ollie and Johan. Johan and Ollie. Like Tinker, Evers, and Chance; Smoltz, Maddux, and Glavine; Schilling and Johnson; the names have been intertwined in baseball history.

They celebrated together on the mound after Perez relieved Santana in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, capping the Mets' fifth World Series championship in seven years. They kidded with each other as back-to-back co-Cy Young award winners in 2010 and 2011, beginning a stretch where each alternated as the NL winner of the award for eight straight years. And they sit together this weekend reflecting on a remarkable stretch which began with both of them on the disabled list and ends here, as they prepare to be inducted together into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"My success definitely traces back to the surgery," says Perez, referring to the controversial procedure conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. "I came back from that a different pitcher."

"I don't really remember much about the past 16 years, to be honest," added Santana.

The players both had surgery on September 1, 2009, suffering from season-ending injuries in a terribly disappointing season for the Mets. For Perez, scar tissue was removed from the patella tendon of his left knee, and Santana had bone chips removed from his pitching elbow. Those surgeries were conducted as scheduled. What no one was told until the players' careers were over, though, was that doctors also took part of Santana's brain and implanted it into Perez's head.

"It was very strange," said Jeff Wilpon, whose father's sale of the team during the off-season was another move that has been widely credited with the team's turnaround. "It was like a Frankenstein setup."

"From that day forward, I was like a different pitcher," Perez recalls. "It was like, 'Oh, you're not supposed to walk guys. Especially with the bases loaded!'"

The effects of the surgery are reflected in the stats: both pitchers averaged 17 wins over the next 10 seasons. Santana reached 300 wins for his career in his final season, while Perez recorded 4,000 strikeouts for his career during that final campaign five years ago.

Neither pitcher reported any negative side effects following the surgery, though fans noticed that every time Santana struck out 10 or more batters from the 2010 season forward, he would wet his pants.

Asked about their time together with the Mets, Perez said of Santana, "I think I owe him everything."

Santana replied, "I don't remember anything."

WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS

I hope the fact that the game ended on an unassisted triple play (capping off a wild string of plays to end the game) doesn't overshadow the fact that Oliver Perez is a mess.

I don't think you could find a starker contrast in pitchers than Perez versus Pedro Martinez.
Put simply: Pedro Martinez is a winner. Oliver Perez is not.

Even when he was ineffective because his health wasn't 100%, Pedro was able to use his knowledge of the game, his abilities - in short his head - to get outs and keep his team in most ballgames. Oliver Perez is just a head case.

There's no other explanation for a pitcher getting so shaken up that he goes to 3-0 on the opposing pitcher - a lifetime .099 hitter - after giving up two homers and falling behind 6-0 in the first inning. Maybe it was a mercy move by Jerry Manuel removing Perez from the game mid-batter, maybe he was sending a message - but either way it's an embarrassment. And when you have the types of issues on the mound that Oliver Perez has, I don't know how you bounce back from that type of embarrassment.

There were a couple of side notes from this game that were neat - the Mets didn't give up after getting down 6-0, which is one of the few times this season they have actually shown some heart. And I wonder if there have ever been games in major league history that featured both an inside-the-park home run and an unassisted triple play.

But the larger story was the winning pitcher, Pedro Martinez, versus the losing pitcher, Oliver Perez. A true winner versus a true loser. Kind of like the 2009 versions of the teams they pitch for.

X-WORD: I've become kind of crossword-obsessed this summer, and if you can get your hands on a copy of the Sunday Boston Globe magazine you'll really enjoy their Sunday crossword puzzle. (I have tried to find their puzzle on-line and I've never been able to find it. It is a puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon [well-known puzzle makers], though, so maybe it's searchable by their names.) Anyway, it's heavy on baseball clues. Pretty fun.

Tomorrow we'll focus on the Jets a bit - prime-time, with Mark Sanchez getting the start.