Johan Santana's No-Hitter Is Another Punch in the Gut for Minnesota Twins

It's known as the worst trade in the history of the Minnesota Twins.

On January 28, 2008 the Twins traded their two-time Cy Young Award winning pitcher, Johan Santana to the New York Mets for four prospects (Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey).

Since that day when Santana went to the bright lights that he had suddenly craved, Twins fans have been left dreaming "what if" with scenarios of signing Santana to an extension (prior to his trade demands) and accepting Boston's offer of Jon Lester, Justin Masterson, Coco Crisp and Jed Lowrie,

But those were just dreams, and in 2012 those dreams have become one giant nightmare for Twins fans.

It started when Phil Humber, who was released by the Twins prior to the 2010 season, threw a perfect game for the Chicago White Sox on April 21. For Twins fans who actually wanted something in return for the best pitcher in baseball, that was bad enough.

Then came Friday night when Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets history, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 8-0.

The entire game was filled with the memories that Twins fans had of Santana but in a different uniform.

His changeup was just as outstanding as when he lead the Twins back from the dead during the 2006 season to win the American League Central. Hitters looked just as baffled as when Santana struck out 17 batters against the Texas Rangers on August 19, 2007.

Then, after striking out David Freese for the final out, he flashed the intensity that Twins fans knew and loved during his eight seasons in Minnesota.

While it's great to see Santana—who has never said a negative word about Twins fans after his trade—throw a no-hitter, it's almost like he came to your doorstep, flashed a smile and promptly punched you in the gut.

Remember, the Twins are also going through another awful season, which tonight saw Carl Pavano (the team's new "ace") give up seven runs to the Cleveland Indians.

Pavano's performance (even though he should probably be on the disabled list) makes Twins fans long for Santana once again. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Who knows how the Santana trade will haunt the Twins for years to come down the road (Guerra is the last player still on the Twins from that trade), but for right now, it has to be hard thinking of what could have been.