Dallas / Fort Worth Sports

NEW YORK (AP) ― The house lights dimmed, music was turned up and a video montage of Johan Santana highlights started rolling on a screen so wide you could almost see the seams on every pitch.

Every minute or so, the string of strikeouts was interrupted by a famous New Yorker welcoming Santana to the Big Apple. There was Chris Rock, Alec Baldwin, Jerry Seinfeld.

The Mets spent big money on their new ace last week and then choreographed a lavish introduction Wednesday at Shea Stadium's Diamond Club, set to some familiar guitar riffs by rock star Carlos Santana.

When it was over, the other Santana -- the one with two Cy Young Awards -- smiled as he pulled on his No. 57 jersey and blue New York Mets cap for the first time.

"It's a new chapter in my career," he said. "I'm going to make my time here special."

After an extended photo shoot and a brief statement, Santana fielded questions at a news conference packed with 139 credentialed media members. The former Minnesota Twins star answered many with cliches, saying he would take things one step at a time and success was a team effort.

Still, he appeared perfectly comfortable at the center of the swarm.

"I spent eight years in the American League. You have to make a lot of adjustments," Santana said as his wife and father looked on. "Now, in the National League, it's going to be a learning process. But I'll be ready."

He also understands that Mets fans demand a World Series championship -- or at least an NL pennant -- immediately following last year's September collapse.

"That's what we're here for," Santana said. "I think we've got the right guys to do it."

The left-hander insisted he doesn't anticipate much difficulty in adapting to New York, though other stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens and Carlos Beltran have needed time to get comfortable.

"I think the game is the same," Santana said. "I'm not going to let that affect what I do on the field.

"Coming to New York, you know you're going to have a chance to win. And that's what I want," he added. "It wasn't a tough decision."

Santana walked into the news conference past a gift shop already stocked with replicas of his new jersey. Later, he posed for pictures at Shea Stadium and in front of the team's new ballpark, which is under construction in the parking lot. The Mets plan to move into Citi Field in 2009.

General manager Omar Minaya introduced Santana, who agreed last Friday to a $137.5 million, six-year contract that allowed his trade from Minnesota to be finalized the following day. Minaya pronounced it was the start of "a great era of Mets baseball."

"Welcome to the city of baseball," the GM said.

Mets manager Willie Randolph, having acquired an ace for his staff, looked on from his front-row seat. Giddy, he put his arm around chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and embraced him.

"You should be happy, Willie," Minaya said. "You should be happy."

Santana's numbers slipped last season. He finished 15-13 and lost seven of his final 11 decisions as his ERA rose from 2.60 to 3.33, his highest since 2001. He allowed a career-high 33 homers -- most in the AL.

"I don't know, man. It's part of the game. You're going to have slumps, I guess," he said. "I don't really have an answer for it."

His agent, Peter Greenberg, revealed that the deadline for the Twins to make a trade was mutually agreed to with Minnesota general manager Bill Smith around Jan. 22. The initial deadline was Jan. 28, but the sides agreed to push it back a day because executives of some of the interested teams weren't available.

Santana had a full-no trade clause, which meant he could control his destination. Greenberg said the Mets were Santana's first choice but that all three bidders were acceptable.

"I think he would have been perfectly happy if he had went to Yankees. I think he would have been perfectly happy if he had went to the Red Sox," Greenberg said.

Mets fans are glad Santana ended up in Queens. On Friday, the team had sold about 100,000 more tickets than at the same time last year, when it set a franchise attendance record at 3.85 million. By Wednesday, sales were 175,000 tickets ahead of last season's pace.

"When they announced that we got him, everybody kind of congratulated me like I just had a baby or something," Randolph said.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)