Néstor Isaías Chávez Silva (July 6, 1947 - March 16, 1969) was a Venezuelan right-handed

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played in

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 ...

for the

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

in 1967. Chávez was just 21 when he was killed in one of the worst aircraft tragedies in Venezuelan history.

Career

Chávez was born on July 6, 1947, in Chacao, Miranda State,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. He was signed as an amateur free agent in 1964 after producing a 34–3 record at the college. Chávez was nicknamed "Látigo" (whip) in his homeland, both for his stunning and sharp

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 ...

. Listed at , , Chávez was one of the best pitching prospects in the Giants farm system. At 19, he was called up to the big club after a combined 47–20 mark in the minors. In two games with the Giants, he compiled a 1–0 record with three

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

s and a 0.00

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in five innings. After the season, he had shoulder surgery and was sidelined for more than a year. Chávez was ready to start his rehabilitation in the minors in 1969. However, on March 16 of that year, Chávez died in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

, in one of the worst aircraft tragedies in Venezuelan history, after Viasa Flight 742 crashed while taking off, killing all 84 aboard and 71 on the ground including Chávez. He was 21 years old.

References

External links

Néstor Chávez
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Home Page (in Spanish)
1947 births 1969 deaths Decatur Commodores players Estrellas Orientales (VPBL) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players Baseball players from Miranda (state) Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Springfield Giants players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1969 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Venezuela Waterbury Giants players 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Burials at Southern General Cemetery {{Venezuela-baseball-pitcher-stub

Career

See also

References

External links