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Benito Santiago Rivera (born March 9, 1965), a native of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico, is a former MLB baseball catcher.Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Santiago came up to the major leagues in 1987 with the San Diego Padres and he established a Major League record that year for a rookie by hitting safely in 34 straight games. This also stands today as the longest hitting streak ever by a catcher. He won the National League's Rookie of the Year Award unanimously that year. Santiago is also known for his ability to throw out would be base stealers from his knees with great efficiency.Santiago may not have matched all the hype that subsequently followed him, but he has made his mark in baseball and in catcher history. He joined the Marlins in 1993 and hit the first home run in Marlins team history. Florida soon traded him to the Reds, where he briefly recovered his best form. In 1996, he joined the Phillies, where he became the first player to hit a grand slam off Greg Maddux in the regular season after Maddux had been pitching for nearly ten years. Maddux had previously surrendered one to Will Clark in the 1989 National League Championship Series, and has only allowed two since Santiago took him deep. Santiago also hit a home run in four consecutive at-bats in the same season. He then went to the Blue Jays (1997-98) where he lost almost the entire 1998 season to a serious injury sustained in a car crash in Florida. A free agent again, he played 89 games for the Cubs.He arrived in San Francisco in 2001. He shared the 2001 Willie Mac Award with Mark Gardener, which recognized the spirit and leadership of each. He helped lead the Giants to the playoffs in 2002. His good hitting continued in the playoffs, where he was named 2002 National League Championship Series MVP.In 2004, Santiago, again a free agent, signed with the Kansas City Royals and had his season cut short after sustaining injuries that sent him to the disabled list. After the 2004 season, the Royals traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Leo Nunez, a rookie pitcher. The Pirates let Santiago go after a mere 23 at-bats in favor of giving playing time to young David Ross. Santiago signed with the New York Mets to a AAA minor-league contract, but he appeared in only a handful of games. He opted out of his AAA contract but did not play in the major leagues in 2006.With his career almost certainly over, discussions have arisen about where he ranks among the game's all-time catchers. His main claim to fame is his excellent durability, which has allowed him to post productive numbers late in his career, at an age when most catchers are already retired.AwardsRookie of the Year Award (NL): 1987 Had a 272-game catching streak with no passed balls 4-time All Star player from 1989-1992 3-time Gold Glove winner 1988-1990 Made post season four times including one World Series in 2002 Hit the first home run ever for the Florida Marlins franchise - (San Francisco, 5 April 1993) 2002 NLCS MVP 2001 Willie Mac Award Held MLB record for length of a hitting streak by a rookie (34) Holds 7th place position for most games caught in a career (1,917)