Julio Navarro Ventura (January 9, 1934 – January 24, 2018) was a

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He played for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1962–64),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1964–66), and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1970). The 5'11", 190 lb. right-hander with the nickname "Whiplash" was acquired by the Angels from the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

organization on September 2, 1962. Navarro made his major league debut in relief on September 3, 1962 against the

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

in game 2 of a doubleheader at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

. He pitched three

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s and gave up two

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in the 6–5 Angels victory. He struck out one batter,

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

. He won his first major league game the very next day with 1.1 scoreless innings against New York. He retired

Bobby Richardson Robert Clinton Richardson, Jr. (born August 19, 1935) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he fo ...

to end the 8th, L.A. scored in the top of the 9th, and then he got Roger Maris,

Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball from 1948 t ...

, and

Johnny Blanchard John Edwin Blanchard (February 26, 1933 – March 25, 2009) was an American professional baseball outfielder and catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, and Milwaukee Braves. Career Born ...

to close out the game. He pitched seven more games that month, ending with a 4.70

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 ...

. The next season, 1963, was Navarro's best statistically. He teamed with 40-year-old

Art Fowler John Arthur Fowler (July 3, 1922 – January 29, 2007) was an American pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. The , right-hander was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season. He played for the C ...

to give the Angels a pair of dependable closers. Navarro finished in 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 ...

top ten for

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

(57), saves (12), and

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

(30). He was 4–5 with an ERA of 2.89. Navarro began the 1964 season in excellent fashion. He relieved in five games for the Angels with a 1.93 ERA, then was traded to the Detroit Tigers for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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 ...

Willie Smith on April 28. He was never the same after that, pitching decently for Detroit but not with the degree of effectiveness he had shown with Los Angeles. He was out of the big leagues after 1966 but returned in 1970 to make 17 appearances for the Atlanta Braves. Career totals include a 7–9 record in 130 games, 1 game started, 66 games finished, 17 saves, and an ERA of 3.65. He had 151

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 212.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

for a 6.40

K/9IP In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

, higher than the major league average during his era. Very good defensively, he handled 49 out of 50

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

successfully for a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of .980. He is the father of former major league pitcher

Jaime Navarro Jaime Navarro Cintrón (born March 27, 1967) is a former Puerto Rican baseball player and current pitching coach for the Uni-President Lions for the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. Navarro was a 6-foot, 4-inch tall right-handed p ...

. Navarro died peacefully January 24, 2018 in Orlando, Florida surrounded by his beloved wife and children.Fallece el exlanzador de Grandes Ligas Julio Navarro

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Navarro, Julio 1936 births 2018 deaths Deaths from Alzheimer's disease People from Vieques, Puerto Rico Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Los Angeles Angels players Detroit Tigers players Atlanta Braves players Chicago Cubs scouts Hawaii Islanders players Syracuse Chiefs players Cocoa Indians players Deaths from dementia in Florida Sandersville Giants players