NAVARRO

Navarro’s education continues on the field and off

By Karen Westeen

For Tacoma Weekly
Published on: August 14, 2008

At 17, most American athletes are still in high school, their professional careers not even taking shape. That was not the case with Rainiers’ infielder Oswaldo Navarro. The Venezuelan native was signed by the Seattle Mariners as an undrafted free agent in 2001, only months after his high school graduation. Shortly thereafter he began attending a local baseball academy, where he got instruction in how to shape his raw baseball skills into what has become an all-star player.

The academy included some academic classes but was mostly baseball. Even speaking English in a classroom was different than speaking it in the real world. There was a little education in life skills, but learning about handling money and other daily matters was pretty hard for a teenager.

“My dad was a big help with that,” Navarro said.

Navarro played his first year of professional baseball in the United States in 2003 with the Everett AquaSox. This was about as far from home in baseball miles and culture as he could possibly have gone. Once there, Navarro set about learning the language of this new country – he was already fluent in the language of baseball.

“Everett is a long way from home,” he said. “I had no English. I could only say ‘combo’ at Jack in the Box – that was easy.”

That first year was very hard. His total life was different. The food was different, along with the climate and environment. It was totally foreign except for the other Latino players and of course they did not all speak the same variety of Spanish. A friend told him he should stay with Americans and not be afraid to speak English.

Even though Navarro struggled at first with the language his bat had no trouble talking. He had a batting average of .258 in 61 games, and led the team in runs scored (42). He also tied for the team lead with 16 stolen bases.

Navarro began 2004 playing Single-A ball in another Hispanic “stronghold,” Appleton, Wisc. After 40 games there, he returned to Everett for the remainder of the season. This time his bat and speed spoke even louder. Navarro set a new club record for doubles with 27. This also led the entire Northwest League. He was chosen to play on the Northwest League All Star team and the AquaSox named him their most valuable player. He hit his first professional home run in 2004 as well.

In 2005 Navarro spent the entire season with Wisconsin, where he batted a personal best .269 and upped his doubles total to 29. This tied for tops on the team.

Navarro moved up again in 2006, starting the season with Double-A San Antonio. He played 79 games there before being promoted to Triple-A Tacoma on July 13. In 55 games with the Rainiers he batted .246 and recorded a season-high nine-game hitting streak from August 2-11. But the best was yet to come.

Navarro’s first major-league call-up came on Sept. 8. He appeared in four games with the Mariners as a pinch-hitter, recording a .667 batting average, getting two singles in three official at bats. His first major-league hit came off A.J. Burnett of Toronto Sept. 13. Navarro said that his debut and first hit were the highlights of his career so far. “Going to the bigs in my third year, when I have only 21 years, with my name on my uniform, on the same team with Ichiro and other superstars – that makes me very happy.”

Navarro was back in Tacoma in 2007 and again in 2008, but he said that being at the same level for several seasons was a good thing for him. “I am here preparing for the big leagues. It’s easier to face the same pitchers than change levels. Also I need to hit a little better to go to the big leagues.”

His hitting for the first 121 games of the 2008 season is nothing to complain about. His average puts him in the top five among players on the Rainiers’ active roster. As of Aug. 11, he is batting .267 with 18 doubles (also among the top five). He has played 76 games at shortstop, and a handful at second and third. “Playing shortstop is my life. I know everything about that position,” he said, but added he was happy to try playing other positions. “I can play whatever they want.”

One place Navarro was asked to play this season did come as a surprise to him. He was named as the Rainiers’ representative to the Triple-A All Star team. Relief pitcher Jared Wells was originally chosen for the honor, but his promotion to Seattle made him ineligible for the team. So Rainiers’ manager Daren Brown picked Navarro to go to the game July 16 in Louisville.

“When Brownie told me I said ‘Why me?’” Navarro recalled. Brown told him “You’ve been with team all year and I think you play good.” Navarro was not one of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) starters but he came in as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the fifth inning. At the time the PCL trailed the International League (IL) 2-0. He walked his first at bat in the eighth and came up again in the top of the ninth, in the middle of a four-run PCL rally. Navarro reached base on a fielding error and ultimately scored what turned out to be the winning run for the PCL.

Then the IL staged a rally of its own in the bottom of the ninth. With the tying runner on, Navarro said all the infielders had a conference on the mound with the pitcher. “I told the pitcher ‘We can do it, we can do it.’” The defense and pitching held the IL to only three runs, giving the PCL a 6-5 win. Even though Navarro’s wife and young son are here with him for the summer, his insertion on the all-star team came with such short notice that the family could not join him for the game.

Navarro’s model for shortstop, also from Venezuela, is someone familiar to Mariner fans – Little O. “Omar Vizquel was my guy (when I was growing up). He was the same position as me. I modeled myself after him. Others say I have hands like him.”

As the season winds down, the Rainiers are heating up. The team’s recent 10-game winning streak brought them to within six games of division leader Salt Lake. Navarro said the stretch has been incredible. “We play together every game, batters, starters, relievers. Everyone is hitting, pitchers are doing a good job. Maybe if we keep winning we can go to the playoffs.”

Whenever the season ends, Navarro will not have much time off from baseball. Just a couple of weeks then it is off to winter ball with the Lara, Venezuela team. He has played with them for several seasons and said it is good to know who his teammates and coaching staff will be there. When that is over, he will have another short vacation with the family, maybe spend a few days at the beach, then head to spring training.

It is pretty obvious that baseball really is life for Oswaldo Navarro, and he plans for that to continue for many years.

NEXT UP FOR THE RAINIERS

Coming soon to a big league stadium near you – the Tacoma Rainiers! In fact many players who spent most or part of the season at Cheney Stadium are now with the Mariners. Bryan LaHair, Jeff Clement, Jeremy Reed, Jake Woods, R.A. Dickey, Cesar Jimenez and Roy Corcoran are currently with the big club. Ryan Rowland-Smith just returned to Seattle after spending about three weeks in Tacoma being stretched out to make the transition from reliever to starter. Tug Hulett and Wladimir Balentien were called up recently to fill the roster spots vacated by Jose Vidro (designated for assignment) and Willie Bloomquist (disabled list.) That is a whole team’s worth. So while the Rainiers are back home for a short four game home vs. Las Vegas Aug. 12-15 the names on the roster here may not be all that familiar.

This is the next to the last homestand of the 2008 season. Fireworks will follow the game on Aug. 15. All four games begin at 7 p.m.

As of Aug. 11 the Rainiers are in second place in the PCL’s Pacific North Division, with a record of 65-57. This is their best record of the season. Coming off a 10-game winning streak July 29-Aug. 9, they are currently seven games behind division leader Salt Lake.

Navarro’s education continues on the field and off

By Karen Westeen

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