His Motivation Is Also His Distraction

CINCINNATI —  Benito Santiago’s situation is confusing.

He requests a trade, even though such a thing is not necessarily in his best interests. And the Padres agree that they will try to accommodate him, even though such a thing is not necessarily in their best interests.

And so the 1992 season commences with rumors continuing to swirl about this 27-year-old All-Star catcher who might be a Padre all year or might not even be a Padre all week.

It’s all quite distracting.

The bottom line, which causes all this confusion, is that he will not be a Padre after this year, because all of the gold in Mission Valley does not seem sufficient to keep him from leaving for greener valleys after he becomes a free agent this fall.

However, then will be then.

Now is now.

To accomplish what he hopes to accomplish in terms of financial security, Santiago needs to have a big year in 1992. He craves it to the point of aching for it. It would be naive to say that considerable self-interest is involved, but there is also the matter of proving to the Padres that a) they should either ante up and sign him or b) rue the day they trade him.

If Santiago spends the year in San Diego and makes his point, it will be a good year for both the Padres and himself. It will benefit the Padres greatly should he make his point in one of their uniforms.

In times of confusion and distraction such as these, baseball is not as easy as it sometimes can be. And it is very rare that this game can be easy.

Benito Santiago is off to a rather rough start in 1992, granted that only two games have transpired here, the first a Padre victory and the second a Cincinnati victory. Benny’s line score was 0-for-7, including a double-play ground ball Monday. The Reds had stolen three bases without being caught. Santiago committed two errors Tuesday night, though one was because infielders botched a signal.

It was hardly the way Santiago would have scripted the beginning of this most consequential personal season.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said. “I’m seeing the ball good and I’m hitting it good. I hit it hard, but right at people. Pretty soon that’s going to change. I’m going to have a good year.”

He did just miss, as the players say, on a couple of long fly-ball outs.

“By an eighth of an inch,” said Greg Riddoch, the manager.

He knew he was 0-for-7 as he sat in front of his locker after the Reds’ 4-2 victory Tuesday night. There have been other times when he has gone 0-for-7, and there will be more times. It so darn visible at the start, particularly with concentration so threatened by distractions.

So what about this free-agent stuff and the trade rumors?

“Sometimes it bothers me,” he said. “I want people to know I’m a human being. I can’t forget about everything. I walk to the ballpark thinking maybe I’ll be out of here. I try to block it out, but sometimes all the stuff goes to my mind. Thats no good.”

During the game itself, Santiago insists that he is able to block out all the distractions. That in itself would seem super human. All minds have minds of their own.

“I think he’s in a great frame of mind,” Riddoch said. “I don’t think he’s pressing. I’ve never seen him more relaxed.”

The problem is that there seems to be no resolution in sight to the question of Santiago’s immediate future. Joe McIlvaine, the general manager, has said no transactions are imminent. It seems he is working on deals more because Santiago insists than because he deems it of immediate concern.

In truth, if the Padres think they have a chance to win the National League West, they should simply tell Santiago that they need him and they will take their chances later with the consequences of possibly losing him and getting nothing in return. To trade him, especially in a money-motivated deal for lesser talent, is to say they do not feel they can seriously contend.

It would not be outlandish to suggest that Riddoch would love to be told he could call Santiago into his office and tell him he was not going anywhere and that the Padres think they can win, but they need him. That would motivate Santiago, given that he is not a man without an ego, more in the short term than anything having to do with the free agent market next winter.

Benito Santiago is motivated now, but the sources of that motivation lead to distraction as well. He is motivated, in part at least, for the wrong reasons.

The Padres would be wise to focus his motivation on his importance to what they hope to do in 1992. Then he would be motivated for the right reasons.