Kansas City, Mo ? Benito Santiago, a veteran catcher with savvy to help young pitchers and plenty of pop left in his bat, is just what the Kansas City Royals were looking for.

Signing him Thursday to a two-year contract had everyone in Kauffman Stadium smiling broadly.

“I’m just happy to be part of the Kansas City Royals,” he said.

Santiago’s two-year, $4.3 million deal calls for yearly salaries of $2.15 million. He can earn an additional $150,000 in bonuses each year based on games played and $300,000 more based on plate appearances.

Santiago, 38, who originally signed with San Diego as a non-drafted free agent in 1982, has a .263 career average, with 1,776 hits, 312 doubles, 211 home runs and 897 RBIs.

It’s been a busy week for Royals general manager Allard Baird, who is hoping to capitalize on the 2003 turnaround season that saw Kansas City in contention until mid-September. Earlier this week, the Royals agreed to a $5 million, two-year contract with reliever Scott Sullivan and a $1 million, one-year deal with outfielder Matt Stairs.

Santiago joins the Royals after playing for seven other teams, including the San Francisco Giants the past three seasons. Last season, he hit .279 with 21 doubles, 11 home runs and 56 RBIs in 108 games.

He was so eager to play for the Royals that he personally placed a call to Baird, not even waiting for his agent to make contact.

“I got rumors Kansas City was interested in me, and I just wanted to go straight to the point because I know it’s a very good team,” he said. “And I wanted to find out. Since then, we’ve been having a great communication, and that communication brings me here.”

Catcher Benito Santiago hangs out in the San Francisco Giants' dugout in this file photo from 2002. The Kansas City Royals signed Santiago to a two-year, .3 million deal Thursday.

Santiago sustained multiple injuries in an accident in Florida in 1998.

“I was pretty hurt. I stayed in the hospital for a couple of weeks, people telling me my career could be over,” he said. “I didn’t want to end my career at a young age. I never quit. I told those guys, ‘I’m going to prove you wrong one day.'”

Before inking the deal, the Royals had team physician Dr. Steve Joyce give Santiago an examination.

“Dr. Joyce called and said, ‘Let me tell you something — this guy’s got more flexibility, more strength than

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some of the young projected draft picks you send to me,”‘ Baird said.

“He’s a very unique individual and somebody who really fits in — not only ability-wise and all those things with the bottom line that we need in this game, which is talent — but what he brings in subjective values is pretty impressive.”

A three-time Gold Glove winner, Santiago was named to the National League All-Star Team four consecutive years from 1989-92 and again in 2002. He also was the most valuable player in the National League championship series in 2002 after hitting .300 (6-20) with two home runs and six RBI in the Giants five-game win over St. Louis.

He is the major league’s most experienced active catcher, playing in 1,923 career games, including 1,862 behind the plate, which ranks seventh in major-league history. He needs to play in 89 games to move past Royals manager Tony Pena into fourth place on the all-time list.

“We will have a lot of fun with that,” Santiago said.