Jaime Navarro

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#ffba00
bgcolor2=#0e3292
textcolor1=#0e3292
textcolor2=#ffba00
name=Jaime Navarro


position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=June 20
debutyear=by|1989
debutteam=Milwaukee Brewers
finaldate=July 26
finalyear=by|2000
finalteam=Cleveland Indians
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=116-126
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=4.72
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=1113
teams=
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|1989-by|1994)
*Chicago Cubs (by|1995-by|1996)
*Chicago White Sox (by|1997-by|1999)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2000)
*Cleveland Indians (by|2000)
highlights=

Jaime Navarro Cintron (born March 27, 1967 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico [cite web
title = Birth, Death and Cemetery Locations in Puerto Rico
publisher = Retrosheet.org
date =
url = http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/PN_122.htm#7
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] ) is a former Puerto Rican baseball player. Navarro was a 6 foot, four inch tall right-handed pitcher in the Major Leagues from by|1989 to by|2000, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. He and his father, former Major League Baseball pitcher Julio Navarro, are part of the select few father-and-son player combinations in baseball.

Baseball career

Early years

After graduating from Luis Pales Matos High School in Santa Rosa, Puerto Rico, Navarro was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2nd round of the January by|1986 amateur draft, but did not sign. On June 2, 1986, Navarro was drafted again by the Orioles in the 2nd round, but he still did not sign. Exactly a year later, in the by|1987 June amateur draft, Navarro was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as the 71st overall pick in the third round, and he signed with the team two days later.cite web
title = Jaime Navarro Baseball Statistics
publisher = The Baseball Cube
date = 29 November 2006
url = http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/N/Jaime-Navarro.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-11 ] cite web
title = Jaime Navarro Baseball Statistics and Status Information
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/n/navarja01.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro spent the rest of the by|1987 season and the following two seasons playing in the Brewers minor league system, working his way up from rookie-level ball with the Helena Brewers to Triple-A (AAA) ball with the Denver Zephyrs.

With the Milwaukee Brewers

Only weeks into the by|1989 minor league baseball season, Navarro was called up to the majors. He made his debut on June 20, by|1989, starting in front a crowd of 17,185 fans at County Stadium in a pitching duel against the Kansas City Royals' Charlie Leibrandt. Navarro tossed six innings of quality baseball, giving up eight hits and one earned run, while walking two and striking out two. Leibrandt pitched equally well and the game was ultimately decided by each team's relief pitchers. Brewers pitcher Mark Knudson gave up six runs in the eleventh inning, and cost Navarro his first major league win.cite web
title = June 20, 1989 Royals vs. Brewers game
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL198906200.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro eventually picked up his first major league win five days later in a 3-1 victory against pitcher Jerry Reuss and the Chicago White Sox at home.cite web
title = June 25, 1989 Brewers vs. White Sox game
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL198906250.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro continued as Brewers starting pitcher for the rest of the season, pitching in a total of nineteen games during the season. He posted an 7-8 record, with a 3.12 earned run average, 56 strikeouts, and a complete game on September 26.cite web
title = September 26, 1989 Brewers vs. Orioles game
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL198909260.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] The following season, Navarro was sent back to the Class-AAA ball with the Denver Zephyrs.

Navarro was called up to the majors after a starting the season in the minors, and he spent the rest of the by|1990 season as a starter/reliever for the Brewers. The Brewers took note of Navarro's skill, and the 24-year-old was one of the team's five starting pitchers for the following season. In his first full season as a starter, Navarro posted a 15-12 record and a 3.92 earned run average. He also had ten complete games, two shutouts, and 114 strikeouts. Navarro had an even better season the following year, finishing with a 17-11 record, a 3.33 ERA and 100 strikeouts.

However, the following two seasons proved disastrous for Navarro, as he gave up a league-high and Brewers team record 127 earned runs and 254 hits in just 214.3 innings of work. With a 11-12 record and a 5.33 ERA in by|1993, the Brewers decided to split Navarro between starting and relieving jobs for the by|1994 season. In his first start of the season, on April 11, 1994, Navarro was the winning pitcher for the inaugural Texas Rangers baseball game at The Ballpark in Arlington.cite web
title = The Ballpark in Arlington Firsts
publisher = Retrosheet.org
date =
url = http://www.retrosheet.org/ballparks/tbia.htm
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Through the season, Navarro showed no sign of improvement, finishing the season with a 4-9 record and 6.62 ERA. Left with few options, the Brewers granted Navarro free agency on April 7, by|1995.

With the Chicago Cubs

Two days after being granted free agency, Navarro signed with the Chicago Cubs.cite web
title = 1995 Chicago Cubs Trades and Transactions
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1995_trans.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro started in twenty nine games for the Cubs that year, and posted much-improved numbers on the season. He led the team in many pitching categories that year, such as wins and innings pitched. [cite web
title = 1995 Chicago Cubs Statistics and Roster
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CHC/1995.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro was granted free agency on November 1, but on December 8, by|1995, he accepted the Cubs' salary arbitration offer, and then agreed to a $3.4 million contract for the by|1996 season. [cite web
title = Navarro accepts Cubs' salary arbitration
publisher = "New York Times"
date = December 9, 1995
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE4D81F39F93AA35751C1A963958260
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro led the team again in 1996 with a 15-12 record, 3.92 earned run average, four complete games and 158 strikeouts. Oddly enough, Navarro also led the league in batters faced and hits allowed. [cite web
title = 1996 National League Expanded Leaderboards
publisher = Baseball-Reference
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1996_t.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] On October 28, by|1996, Navarro was again granted free agency by the Cubs and he signed to a four-year, $20 million contract with the crosstown rivals of the Cubs, the White Sox, on December 11.

With the White Sox

The three years (by|1997 - by|1999) that Navarro spent with the White Sox was far from a success. Along with a lowly 9-14 record and a 5.79 ERA, Navarro led the league in wild pitches, hits allowed, earned runs allowed in by|1997. One of the only highlights of the 1997 season was the surprising dominance Navarro had against the Boston Red Sox. Most memorable is a 10-1 victory against the team on May 20, which gave Navarro his 10th straight win against the Red Sox, dating back to September 28, by|1991.cite web
title = Jaime Navarro highlights
publisher = BaseballLibrary.com
author = Arnie Braunstein
date =
url = http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/N/Navarro_Jaime.stm
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] The by|1998 season was just as disappointing for Navarro, as he finished with a dismal 8-16 record and 6.36 ERA, and led the league in wild pitches and losses. Navarro showed no improvement the following year either, and the White Sox traded Navarro and fellow pitcher John Snyder to the Brewers for pitcher Cal Eldred and infielder José Valentín.

Journeyman

Navarro became another addition to the starting rotation of the Brewers for the beginning of the by|2000 season. In five starts with the team, he only pitched 18.7 innings, posted an 0-5 record, gave up eighteen walks, and had an ERA of 12.54. Less than a month into the season, the Brewers released him. Sixteen days later, he was signed as a free agent by the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies sent Navarro back down to Triple-A baseball with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in the Pacific Coast League. Jaime showed some improvement in AAA ball, but he was released by the Rockies a month after being signed by the team. The next day, the Cleveland Indians picked up Navarro as a free agent,cite web
title = 2000 Cleveland Indians Trades and Transactions
publisher = Baseball-Reference
author =
date =
url = http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2000_trans.shtml
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] and he agreed to be sent back down to AAA ball with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League, after Indians manager Charlie Manuel suggested he learn to be a reliever.cite web
title = Jaime Navarro Player News
publisher = Roto Sports
author =
date =
url = http://www.rotowire.com/baseball/player.htm?ID=5061
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ]

He was later called up to the big leagues in a role as a starter/reliever, and he did not fair well in his return to the big leagues. This was the last time he played in the major leagues, as Navarro was later designated for assignment to clear up space on the Indians' 40-man roster. He played with the Bisons for the remainder of the by|2000 season before being granted free agency by the Indians on October 2. He was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays on December 13, and subsequently released on March 11, by|2001. [cite web
title = Navarro released by Blue Jays
publisher = MLB.com
author =
date =
url = http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/transactions.jsp?c_id=tor&year=2001&month=3
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ]

Nearly a year later, on January 31, by|2002, the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to terms on a minor league contract with Navarro and assigned him to the Class AAA Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League. More than a year later, Navarro signed with the Cincinnati Reds to play for the Triple-A Louisville Bats of the International League. [cite web
title = Reds sign Navarro
publisher = "The Cincinnati Enquirer"
author = John Fay
date =
url = http://reds.enquirer.com/2003/05/27/redsnotes0527.html
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Navarro looked much better after only giving up three earned runs in ten innings of work in two starts for Louisville. However, he was released by the Reds on June 6, by|2003. [cite web
title = Navarro released by Reds
publisher = MLB.com
author =
date =
url = http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/transactions/index.jsp?c_id=mlb&year=2003&month=6
accessdate = 2006-12-13 ] Later, he played with the unaffiliated Newark Bears of the Atlantic League as a starting pitcher. After his stint with the Bears, Navarro did not play professional baseball in the U.S again.

He did, however, spend three years pitching in Italy (BBC Grosseto), and his 18 wins and 1.76 era helped his team win the 2004 Italian League and play in the European Champions League, which Grosseto won in 2005. In the early months of the 2005 season, Navarro had a serious bike accident that cost him the rest of the season, but he managed to come back for the 2006 season, finishing 9-7 with a 2.03 ERA.

Days after the 2006 season's finale, he had a rough discussion with Grosseto management and decided not to pitch again in Italy. He is currently the pitching coach for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League.

Career

Career Statistics:
"Pitching"

ee also

* List of second generation MLB players

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=n/navarja01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/N/Navarro_Jaime.stm BaseballLibrary - Jaime Navarro]

Persondata
NAME=Navarro, Jaime Cintron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American baseball player
DATE OF BIRTH=March 27 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH=Bayamon, Puerto Rico
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=