Balvino Gálvez Jerez (born March 31, 1964) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the 1980s to the early 2000s. Galvez who pitched part of one season for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and numerous minor league affiliates then traveled to

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

for five seasons for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

in the

Nippon Professional Baseball League or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Japanese baseball Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 and is Japan's most popular participatory and spectator sport. The first professional competitions emerged in the 1920s. The highest level of baseball in Japan is Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which ...

. He also played briefly for teams in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Professional career

Gálvez was signed by the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in , and made his Major League (MLB) debut in with the Dodgers. He played in 10 major league games that year, but was demoted to the minors at the start of the 1987 season and never appeared in another MLB game. Over the next several years, Galvez also suited up for minor league affiliates teams of the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, along with

teams

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

and the Chicago Cubs in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994, Galvez signed with the

Brother Elephants A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of the national capital of

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

on the island nation of

(with the

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

government of the Republic of China since 1949 after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

). In two full seasons with the Elephants, he had a 26–16 record with an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 2.53 and 203 strikeouts in 370 innings pitched. He traveled to Japan in where

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

had a fevered fan base of followers since the early 20th century shared with the Americans who introduced the sport. Galvez was signed during spring training by the

, the most famous

team in the

. He ended up with 16 wins, tying teammate Masaki Saito for the most wins in the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

of the NPBL. The Giants won the Central League pennant that year, playing in the

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

of the championship tournament. Gálvez displayed a distinct pitching form in Japan, often releasing the ball while sticking out his tongue. He had a mid-90 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

and surprisingly good control. However, he was not comfortable when there were runners on base, and had trouble pitching from the set position. He also showed frequent dissatisfaction with ball and strike calls; a trait which would lead him into clashes with opposing teams and umpires. On July 31, , the Giants played against the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It ...

, and Gálvez faced Tomochika Tsuboi, a heavy hitter in the bottom of the 6th inning. Galvez had a borderline pitch called a ball by the umpire, Atsushi Kittaka, and he subsequently lost his composure, giving up a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

to Tsuboi on the next pitch. Giants

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Shigeo Nagashima is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager. Biography Nagashima played baseball at his local high school, and on the Rikkyo University baseball team from 1954–1957. He joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958. His jersey number ...

emerged from the dugout to change pitchers, but Gálvez refused to leave the mound, instead shouting insults at Kittaka. Gálvez allowed his teammates to drag him back towards the dugout, but then he turned back to throw the baseball at Kittaka (the ball narrowly missed him). The game was a huge mess afterwards, with both teams involved in arguments and physical confrontations. The next game between the Tigers and Giants also erupted into a brawl, and both teams were warned for throwing dangerous pitches during the August 2nd contest. Galvez was given a season-ending suspension for throwing at the umpire. The Giants could have released Gálvez for causing such an incident, but they chose to re-sign him for because the team's main starters, (Masaki Saito,

Hiromi Makihara Hiromi Makihara (born August 11, 1963) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball pitcher. He was a six-time Central League All-Star, won Rookie of the Year honors, and pitched a perfect game in a 19-year career with the Yomiuri Giants The ...

and

Masumi Kuwata Masumi Kuwata (桑田真澄 ''Kuwata Masumi'', born 1 April 1968 in Yao, Osaka, Japan) is a former Japanese right-handed pitcher who played the bulk of his career with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He pitched 21 seasons wi ...

) were showing signs of aging. Gálvez actually ended up being the team's Opening Day starter, becoming the first non-Japanese player to pitch Opening Day for the Giants. He pitched decently throughout the season, but was given very little run support, resulting in a 9–12 record in 1999. He still figured as an important part of the Giants' starting rotation, though, and was kept for the following season. Gálvez had stiff competition in 2000 for his spot on the top team roster during spring training, as the Giants had signed three other non-Japanese pitchers during the offseason. He earned his slot in the starting rotation, but

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

all 6 of the games he started in , despite giving up 3 runs or less each start. This made 10 consecutive losses, counting his four losses at the end of the previous year. He was demoted to the Giants' farm team in the Japanese minors after his sixth loss and was released by the club at the end of the season. Although his temperamental ways, particularly the 1998 incident, tarnished his reputation in Japan, he still compiled a 46–43 record in his five seasons there. He was signed by the Samsung Lions ( Korea Baseball Organization) in Samsung, South Korea in , and picked up a win in his first start. However, it was discovered that he had traveled to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

without a working visa, and he was sued by the opposing team (

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

). However, after the visa situation was resolved, Galvez was a standout pitcher for the Samsung team, compiling a 10–4 record. Before going to

to play with Samsung in 2001, Galvez had signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the

back in the

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and pitched well enough in spring training to be in contention for the team's #5 starting pitcher spot. But a dispute with the Pirates' pitching coach on April 1 led to another temperamental outburst from Galvez and he quit the team.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvez, Balvino 1964 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Brother Elephants players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in South Korea Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Glens Falls Tigers players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players KBO League pitchers Lethbridge Dodgers players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Orlando Cubs players Orlando Twins players Portland Beavers players Samsung Lions players San Antonio Missions players Vero Beach Dodgers players Tigres del México players Yomiuri Giants players