- Julián Tavárez
Infobox MLB player
width = 150px
name = Julián Tavárez
team = Atlanta Braves
number = 54
position = Relief pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1973|5|22
birthplace =Santiago de los Caballeros ,Dominican Republic
bats = Left
throws = Right
debutdate = August 7
debutyear = 1993
debutteam = Cleveland Indians
statyear = 2008 season
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 85-75
stat2label =Earned run average
stat2value = 4.45
stat3label =Strikeout s
stat3value = 810
teams =
*Cleveland Indians (by|1993-by|1996)
*San Francisco Giants (by|1997-by|1999)
*Colorado Rockies (by|2000)
*Chicago Cubs (by|2001)
*Florida Marlins (by|2002)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2003)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2004-by|2005)
*Boston Red Sox (by|2006-by|2008)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2008)
*Atlanta Braves (by|2008-present)Julián Tavárez Carmen (born
May 22 ,1973 in Santiago,Dominican Republic ) is aMajor League Baseball pitcher currently with theAtlanta Braves .Childhood
Tavárez received no formal education. The son of a construction worker living in poverty, Tavárez shined shoes, sold newspapers and helped out at construction sites. He aspired to be a
baseball player but contemplated a career in adult films if he had no future in baseball. He sometimes goes by the nickname "El muñeco" (The Doll).cite web | url = http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2007/05/tavarezthe_x_ra.html | title =Tavarez--the X rated version? |author=Gordon Edes |work =Boston Globe | date =2007-05-19 | accessdate = 2008-07-09 ]Baseball career
Minor Leagues
Tavárez began his professional career on
March 16 , by|1990, signing aminor league contract with theCleveland Indians organization. For two years, he was a starter for theDominican Summer League Indians. In by|1991, he joined the Class ABurlington Indians where he led the league inshutouts andhit batsmen . Tavárez progressed rapidly the following year, playing in Kinston, Canton-Akron, and finally with the Cleveland Indians.Cleveland Indians
He made his major league debut on
August 6 , by|1993, and received his first win onAugust 14 against the Texas Rangers. For his time in Canton-Akron, Tavárez wonCarolina League Player of the Year honors and was named the league's top prospect byBaseball America . Tavárez was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte in by|1994, where he led theInternational League in wins. He did make one spot start for Cleveland that year. Tavárez was sent to thebullpen in by|1995, which was a breakout year for him. He was first in wins, third ininnings pitched , and fifth in ERA amongAmerican League relief pitchers and threw 4.1 scoreless innings against theAtlanta Braves in theWorld Series . Tavárez was theSporting News American League Rookie of the Year, but finished sixth in the ballot by theBaseball Writers Association of America . by|1996 was Tavárez's final year with Cleveland. He was suspended for three days after a brawl in Milwaukee and spent two weeks in Triple-A Buffalo before appearing in the ALDS.an Francisco Giants
Tavárez was traded to the
San Francisco Giants onNovember 13 ,1996 , along withinfielders Jeff Kent andJose Vizcaino and a player to be named (pitcherJoe Roa ) in exchange forthird baseman Matt Williams and a player to be named (outfielder Trenidad Hubbard ). In his first year with the club, Tavárez led theNational League with 89 appearances, while also setting a club record in the statistic. He had a stretch of 24 consecutive scoreless games and appeared in all three games of the NLDS against theFlorida Marlins . Tavárez recorded his first save onMay 14 , by|1998, with a 3 inning outing against theMontreal Expos . He also was placed on thedisabled list for the first time after straining alatissimus dorsi muscle and received his second suspension after an argument withumpire Sam Holbrook . Tavárez again appeared on the disabled list in by|1999 due topneumonia and had twominor league stints.Colorado Rockies
Tavárez was claimed off waivers by the
Colorado Rockies onNovember 21 ,1999 . He recorded one of two career major league complete games with a four-hitter against theChicago Cubs and went on to post an NL best 9-game win streak on his way to a career high 11 wins.Chicago Cubs
Tavárez signed as a
free agent with theChicago Cubs onNovember 16 , by|2000, and set career highs ininnings ,strikeout s, andgames started after returning to a full-time starting role. OnApril 11 , he executed a safety squeeze to record his first RBI. He was suspended fromApril 29 toMay 4 for his part in a bench clearing brawl against the Giants. OnMay 5 , Tavárez won a lopsided 20-1 game against theLos Angeles Dodgers . He then recorded his first multi-hit game against Pittsburgh onJuly 24 . OnOctober 6 , against thePittsburgh Pirates , Tavárez struck out 9 hitters and took ano-hitter into the eighth inning before it was broken up byMendy Lopez .Florida Marlins
Tavárez was acquired by the
Florida Marlins onMarch 27 , by|2002, along withminor league pitchersJose Cueto andDontrelle Willis andcatcher Ryan Jorgensen in exchange forpitchers Antonio Alfonseca andMatt Clement . OnMay 16 , he chose to pitch with a shoulder injury and allowed a career high 10earned runs . It began a stretch of 5 consecutive losses. He allowed 25 runs and had a .391opponents batting average in the first-inning.Pittsburgh Pirates
Tavárez was relegated to bullpen duty in by|2003 after being signed by the
Pittsburgh Pirates as aminor league free agent onJanuary 28 . During the season, he compiled a streak of 14.1 consecutive scoreless innings and ended the season with a career-high 11 saves, allowing only 9 of 35 inherited runners to score.t. Louis Cardinals
Tavárez signed on with the
St. Louis Cardinals onJanuary 9 , by|2004. He earned his first win with St. Louis against theCincinnati Reds , striking out the side in the 10th inning, and went on to surpass 1000 career innings pitched in August.Tavárez was ejected from a game against the Pirates on
August 20 , 2004, after an accusation of having a "foreign substance" on his cap. He served an 8 day suspension for the incident.Tavárez posted a 2.61 ERA in nine
postseason games, but suffered breaks in his leftring finger and fifthmetacarpal after punching a bullpen phone in the dugout following being removed from Game 4 of the NLCS. He had allowed a solohome run toCarlos Beltran , issued two walks, and hit a batter. Tavárez played the rest of the 2004 postseason with a protective wrap in his glove, and when the glove was removed his hand was noticeably swollen. Tavárez suffered the loss against theBoston Red Sox in Game 1 of the2004 World Series , giving up the game-winning home run toMark Bellhorn in the eighth inning.Boston Red Sox
A free agent following the by|2005 season, Tavárez agreed to a $6.7 million, two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on
January 18 , by|2006.On
March 27 , 2006, Tavárez was suspended for the first ten games of his Red Sox career as a result of a fistfight that broke out between him andTampa Bay Devil Rays outfielder Joey Gathright during aspring training game. Although he had a poor year as a relief pitcher, injuries forced the Sox to use him as a starter for the last few weeks of the season. In 6 starts, he went 3-0 with a 4.01 ERA, and recorded his second complete game in a 7-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.On
March 22 , by|2007, teammateJonathan Papelbon was named the team's closer, and Tavárez took his spot in the rotation.Tavárez called the 2007 Red Sox pitching staff the best he's ever been associated with. [ [http://redsox.bostonherald.com/redSox/view.bg?articleid=1000623&format=text Error - BostonHerald.com ] ]
During a game in May 2007, Tavárez wore shoes emblazoned with the likeness of his teammate
David Ortiz . [ [http://www.survivinggrady.com/2007/05/julian-tavarez-patron-saint-of-quality.html Surviving Grady: A Diary of Unhealthy Red Sox Obsession ] ]In spring training, it had been assumed that Tavárez was simply holding the fifth spot in the rotation for the Red Sox top pitching prospect
Jon Lester while he recovered fromcancer . However, with Lester struggling in Triple-A and Tavárez pitching well, he kept his spot in the rotation through the All-Star break.After a stretch of poor starts, 0-4 with a 7.79 ERA, he was moved to the bullpen on
July 22 , 2007, and replaced in the rotation by Lester.Tavárez earned his first World Series ring when the Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in the
2007 World Series .On
May 11 , by|2008, Tavárez was designated for assignment. He later accepted an assignment to the Triple-APawtucket Red Sox even though he could have opted for free agency. Later that month, he was released. [cite web
url=http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/05/21/farrell_had_an_erie_feeling/?page=2
title=Farrell had an Erie feeling: He flashed back to Cleveland no-hit bid | date=2008-05-21 |publisher=Boston Globe | author=Gordon Edes |accessdate=2008-05-21]Milwaukee Brewers
On
May 27 , 2008, Tavárez signed a contract with theMilwaukee Brewers for the remainder of the 2008 season. [ [http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080527&content_id=2780290&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil Brewers add Tavarez to bullpen mix] ] OnJune 19 , Tavárez was designated for assignment, [ [http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080619&content_id=2962661&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil Tavarez designeted for assignment] ] and rejected an outright assignment to the minors, opting instead to be released from his contract. [McCalvy, Adam. [http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080624&content_id=2993947&vkey=news_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil "Tavarez elects free agency."] "MLB.com". 24 June 2008.]Atlanta Braves
Tavárez signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves on
July 8 , 2008, for the remainder of the 2008 season. On that day, he made his Braves debut against theLos Angeles Dodgers . He pitched a third of an inning and gave up two runs, one earned.cite web | url = http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/07/08/braves_tavarez_0709.html | title =Braves sign right-hander Tavarez |author=David O'Brien |work =The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | date =2007-08-08 | accessdate = 2008-07-09 ]ee also
*
MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List References
External links
* [http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=28951 Baseball Reference] minor league statistics
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