Ender James Chávez (born March 9, 1981) is a Venezuelan professional baseball

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He is the former batting practice pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the younger brother of former Major League Baseball outfielder Endy Chávez.

Career

Playing career

Chávez signed with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

as a non-drafted free agent on Aug. 31, 1998, playing his first two seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, Chávez played for the

Casper Rockies Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * Dav ...

before being traded to the New York Mets on August 23, 2001, as the player to be named later for Gary Bennett. Chávez played for the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

for the 2002 season before being promoted to the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

where he played from 2002 to 2003 before splitting the '03 season with the Cyclones, Capital City Bombers, and St. Lucie. After the 2003 season, he was acquired by the Montreal Expos in the Rule 5 draft. After the Expos moved to Washington becoming the Washington Nationals starting the 2005 season, Chávez remained in the organization. At this time, his older brother Endy was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Ender played for the Brevard County Manatees in 2004 and the Potomac Nationals in 2005. In 2006, he was promoted to the double-AA level for the first time playing for the Harrisburg Senators and Potomac. He would conclude the 2006 season playing for

Pastora de Occidente There have been four different professional baseball clubs in Venezuela that have played under the name Pastora. These teams have been established in the northwest of the country, particularly in the states of Zulia and Acarigua, and have played in ...

of the VSL into early 2007. Chávez returned to the Mets organization playing for the Brooklyn Cyclones and St. Lucie Mets in 2007, hitting .170 for the former and .279 for the latter. In 2008, he played for the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League, hitting .400 in 10 at-bats before retiring.

Coaching career

Chávez was hired as a Venezuelan-area scout for the New York Mets in 2010. He began his minor league coaching career as the hitting coach for the DSL Mets 2 from 2011 to 2012. From 2013 to 2015 he was the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Mets. From 2016 to 2017 he was the hitting coach for the Kingsport Mets. In 2018, he was named the hitting coach for the Columbia Fireflies. In 2019, he was named the bench coach for the

Binghamton Rumble Ponies The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

. In 2020, Chávez was promoted to the Mets coaching staff as the batting practice pitcher. In 2021, he was replaced by Rafael Fernandez as the batting practice pitcher and hired as the co-bench coach with his brother Endy for the realigned second minor league team in Port St. Lucie.

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Ender 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Valencia, Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Casper Rockies players Brooklyn Cyclones players St. Lucie Mets players Capital City Bombers players Brevard County Manatees players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Pastora de Occidente players Bravos de Margarita players Yuma Scorpions players Minor league baseball coaches New York Mets coaches