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

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and numerous minor league affiliates then traveled to

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

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 h ...

in the

Nippon Professional Baseball League is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

Japanese baseball Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1859 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), whic ...

. He also played briefly for teams in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Professional career

Gálvez was signed by the

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

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 Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

affiliates teams of the

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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) Am ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

, along with

teams

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

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

Brother Elephants A brother (: brothers or brethren) 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 ...

of the national capital of

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

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 or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

government of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

since 1949 after the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

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

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in where

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

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 , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, 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 i ...

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, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...

of the championship tournament. Gálvez displayed a distinct pitching form in

, 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 (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

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 are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

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

, 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 Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

to Tsuboi on the next pitch. Giants

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Shigeo Nagashima 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 and Masumi Kuwata) 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 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 The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

) 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 is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

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

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

). 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 The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

of the

back in the U.S.A. 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 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen 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