Santiago Told He Can’t Go Behind Home Again : Baseball: Veteran is benched as the Padres look at younger catchers. Reds win, 6-1.

All-Star catcher Benito Santiago has survived trade rumors, fan abuse and tumultuous contract negotiations. After 10 years in the Padre organization, Santiago realizes now it is over.

Santiago was told Sunday, before the Padres lost, 6-1, to the Cincinnati Reds, he will not catch anymore this season. It all but officially ends his Padre career. He will be benched--with the possible exception of an emergency start or pinch-hitting appearance--while the Padres take a look at rookie Dan Walters and Tom Lampkin.

Considering the reeling Padres (77-71) are 12 games behind the Atlanta Braves with only 14 to play, Santiago understands the situation. There are more urgent decisions to be made, such as whether Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, will fire Manager Greg Riddoch.

When asked if he was considering firing Riddoch this week, McIlvaine said: “I’m not going to answer that. I just won’t answer that.”

The Reds swept the three-game series against the Padres, who were outscored by Bip Roberts, the Reds’ leadoff hitter, 6-5. Reds starter Tim Belcher established a career high by striking out 13.

Padre starter Greg Harris (2-8), who remained winless since May 31, yielded eight hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings. It left the Padres (77-71) with their fifth defeat in their last six games, nine in the last 12 and 19 in their last 32.

“When you look at where we’re at, and those two clubs ahead of us,” Riddoch said of Atlanta and Cincinnati, “it just looks like they’re better clubs than we are.”

The Padres, Santiago said, might be saying the same for a long time. Santiago, who will declare himself a free agent next month, could be among at least a half-dozen high-priced Padres who could be gone by the season’s end.

“You know, a couple of years ago when we had Joe Carter, Jack Clark and everyone on the team,” Santiago said, “I thought this was a team on the way up. And we had a real good team this year. If think if they kept it together, and added a couple of starters and a hitter, we could be a great team.

“But by the way everybody’s talking, that they won’t spend any money, the Padres are going to have a lot of trouble. They’ll be like the Houston Astros.”

Although Santiago would like to keep playing the remainder of the season, he says he’s not at all bitter. In fact, he predicted two months ago that if the Padres fell out of the race, he’d be sitting.

The only difference is that reality has sunk in.

These last two weeks will be the final days he’ll be wearing a Padre uniform.

“It’s sad because I love San Diego so much,” Santiago said, “and I’ll always live here in the off-season. I really enjoyed my 10 years in this organization, but I guess it’s over.”

Santiago joined the organization at age 17. The Padres brought him into this country to play baseball. Now, after he developed into one of baseball’s premier catchers, he will leave.

Never mind the four All-Star rings, four Silver Slugger awards and three Gold Gloves sitting at Santiago’s La Jolla home. The Padres say they simply can’t afford him. McIlvaine says there’s not even a guarantee they can offer arbitration to him for fear that Santiago will accept and earn about $5 million next season.

Instead, they will thank Santiago for his services, wish him well and hope Walters is capable of being a major league starter.

“These aren’t personality decisions,” McIlvaine said, “these are monetary decisions. After a while, it comes down to choosing and picking what salaries you wants.

“We’re not ruling anything out, but I think it’s unlikely we’ll sign any free agents this winter.”

Said Santiago: “‘I’m leaving San Diego, but it’s not my choice,” Santiago said, “it’s their choice. When they traded Sandy (Alomar), I thought I’d be here forever, but everything changed.

“They could have signed me. I’ve given them every chance. I would have signed two years ago (for $15 million over four years). I don’t know where I’ll go, but money’s not the most important thing to me.

“I just want to play for a team that I’m comfortable with. I want to play for a team that wants me, a team that respects me, and a team that treats me fairly.”

Santiago hopes remain in the National League but refuses to rule out any team. He’d love to be playing next season for the Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets or the Atlanta Braves. Even the Miami Marlins will be considered.

Santiago, who missed two months this season with a broken finger, is batting .251 with 10 homers and 42 RBIs. He had been the only NL catcher the past four years to hit 15 homers and drive in 75 runs in a season before Phillie catcher Darren Daulton performed the feat this season.

“It’s fun to watch teams come in here and totally change their running game,” Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn said recently. “There’s not a catcher in the league that can do what he does.

“The sad part is that I don’t think people will realize just what he’s done and what he means to this team until he’s gone.”

Santiago, who watched the Reds steal four bases against Walters on Sunday, rubs his face and smiles.