Carlos Santana responds to Jake Arrieta saying Phillies’ culture was better without him
The former Phillies first baseman was compelled to fire up Twitter after reading that Jake Arrieta said the team’s culture was better this season with Santana gone.
It had been more than a year since Carlos Santana last sent a tweet, but the former Phillies first baseman was compelled to fire up Twitter on Thursday night after reading that Jake Arrieta said the team’s culture was better this season with Santana gone.
“Why it was better without Santana? We had better guys in the clubhouse,” Arrieta told The Inquirer before Sunday’s season finale. “That’s it. A lot more veteran presence.”
Santana, perhaps an avid reader of The Inquirer’s Extra Innings newsletter, smashed a TV in the Phillies clubhouse in September 2018 during his final weekend with the Phillies. The team nosedived out of the playoff race and a frustrated Santana told ESPN that the Phillies were playing too many video games. He even accused players of staying in the clubhouse during the game to play Fortnite.
“I take my job seriously,” Santana tweeted on Thursday. “So if Jake isn’t doing the best thing for the team or setting a bad example for the young guys, I’m not going to sit back and support it. Maybe he didn’t agree with that. Actions speak louder than words. I loved my time in Philly and wish them the best. Turn the page Papi.”
The Phillies traded Santana to Seattle in December and then he was quickly moved by the Mariners to Cleveland. He had a career-high .911 OPS and hit 34 homers as he made his first All-Star Game.
“It’s something that happened,” Santana said at the All-Star Game about the TV smashing. “We were fighting with Atlanta and we had lost eight straight games and I was a little frustrated with that. Everyone knows that that’s not my personality.”
Arrieta said in March after Santana revealed the TV incident that he didn’t believe that players were playing video games during the game and it was something he would not allow.
“Communication should have taken place,” Arrieta said in March. “Because we could’ve had a conversation about, ‘OK, I understand that you maybe don’t like guys playing video games, but what if someone doesn’t like you on your phone watching a movie before the game?’ It’s just a matter of understanding that guys are different.”