THIS DAY IN BEÍSBOL February 14: Johan Santana signs largest Twins contract ever

The Minnesota Twins opened its vault for pitcher Johan Santana on this day in beísbol, February 14, 2005, as the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner received a sweet Valentine Day’s gift: a four-year, $40 million deal.

The contract was the largest in the history of the team and essentially bought out the rest of the 26-year-old southpaw’s arbitration-eligible years and first year of free agency.

The move paid off immensely for the Twins as the Venezuela native went 50-26 with a 2.99 ERA over the next three seasons, including a second Cy Young in 2006 for his 19-6, 2.77 record and MLB-leading 245 strikeouts.

Santana was traded to the Mets in 2008 for four young players. He enjoyed three winning seasons in New York that included an NL-leading 2.53 ERA in 2008 and a no-hitter four years later.

UCinternational, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration