Cleveland fans gave veteran first baseman Carlos Santana a lengthy ovation in his first at-bat since he signed a two-year deal with the Royals in the offseason. Santana stepped out of the batter’s box to soak in the moment and even tipped his hat to the crowd, who eventually got on their feet and continued to applaud.
Santana spent 10 of his first 11 years in a Cleveland uniform, amassing 216 home runs and 19.5 fWAR in 1334 games. He slashed .251/.368/.450 with Cleveland in that span and is second in franchise history with 881 walks — trailing only Jim Thome’s incredible 1008 free bases in a Cleveland uniform.