| Julián Tavárez | |
|---|---|
 Tavarez with the Washington Nationals | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1973-05-22)May 22, 1973 (age 52) Santiago de los Caballeros,Dominican Republic | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 7, 1993, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 19, 2009, for the Washington Nationals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 88–82 |
| Earned run average | 4.46 |
| Strikeouts | 842 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Member of the Caribbean | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2024 |
Julián Tavárez Carmen (born May 22, 1973) is aDominican former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played for 11 franchises over the course of a 17–seasonMajor League Baseball (MLB) career from 1993 to 2009. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 165 pounds (75 kg), he threw right-handed and batted left-handed.
Tavárez began his professional career on March 16, 1990, signing aminor league contract with theCleveland Indians organization. For two years, he was a starter for theDominican Summer League Indians. In 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. He was named the Indians' 1994 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the "Lou Boudreau Award").[1]
Tavarez made his major league debut on August 6, 1993, and earned his firstwin on August 14, against theTexas Rangers. During 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 1994, where he led theInternational League in wins. He did make one spot start for Cleveland that year. Tavárez was sent to the bullpen in 1995, which was a breakout year for him. He was first in wins, third ininnings pitched, and fifth inERA amongAmerican Leaguerelief pitchers and threw 4.1 scoreless innings against theAtlanta Braves in theWorld Series. Tavárez was theSporting NewsAmerican LeagueRookie of the Year, but finished sixth in the ballot by theBaseball Writers' Association of America. The 1996 season was Tavárez' final year with Cleveland. He was suspended for three days after a brawl inMilwaukee and spent two weeks in Triple-ABuffalo before appearing in theALDS.
Tavárez was traded to theSan Francisco Giants on November 13, 1996, along withinfieldersJeff Kent andJosé Vizcaíno and a player to be named (pitcherJoe Roa) in exchange forthird basemanMatt Williams and a player to be named (outfielderTrenidad Hubbard).[2] 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 theNLDS against theFlorida Marlins. Tavárez recorded his firstsave on May 14, 1998, with a three-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 withumpireSam Holbrook. Tavárez again appeared on the disabled list in 1999 due topneumonia and had twominor league stints.
Tavárez was claimed offwaivers by theColorado Rockies on November 21, 1999. The next day, he signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Rockies for the 2000 season.[3] He recorded one of two careermajor league complete games with a four-hitter against theChicago Cubs and went on to post an NL best nine-game win streak on his way to a career high 11 wins.
Tavárez signed as afree agent with theChicago Cubs on November 16, 2000, and set career highs ininnings,strikeouts, andgames started after returning to a full-time starting role. On April 11, he executed a safety squeeze to record his firstRBI. He was suspended from April 29 to May 4 for his part in a bench clearing brawl against the Giants. On May 5, Tavárez won a 20–1 decision against theLos Angeles Dodgers. He then recorded his first multi-hit game against Pittsburgh on July 24. On October 6, against thePittsburgh Pirates, Tavárez struck out nine hitters and took ano-hitter into the eighth inning before it was broken up byMendy López.
Tavárez was acquired by theFlorida Marlins on March 27, 2002, along with minor league pitchersJose Cueto andDontrelle Willis andcatcherRyan Jorgensen in exchange for pitchersAntonio Alfonseca andMatt Clement.[4] On May 16, he chose to pitch with a shoulder injury and allowed a career high tenearned runs. It began a stretch of five consecutivelosses. He allowed 25 runs and a .391 opponents' batting average in the first inning.
Tavárez was relegated to bullpen duty in 2003 after being signed by thePittsburgh Pirates as aminor league free agent on January 28.[5] 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 nine of 35 inherited runners to score.
Tavárez signed a two-year contract with theSt. Louis Cardinals on January 9, 2004.[6] He earned his first win withSt. Louis against theCincinnati Reds, striking out the side in the 10th inning, and went on to surpass 1,000 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 eight-day suspension for the incident.[7]
Tavárez posted a 2.61 ERA in ninepostseason 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 theNLCS. He had allowed a solohome run toCarlos Beltrán, issued twowalks, and hit a batter.[8] 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.
A free agent following the 2005 season, Tavárez agreed to a two-year, $6.7 million deal with the Boston Red Sox on January 18, 2006.[9]
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 RaysoutfielderJoey Gathright during aspring training game.[10] 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, 2007, teammateJonathan Papelbon was named the team'scloser, and Tavárez took his spot in therotation. During a game in May 2007, Tavárez wore shoes emblazoned with the likeness of his teammateDavid Ortiz.[11] In spring training, it had been assumed that Tavárez was simply holding the fifth spot in the rotation for the Red Sox top pitching prospectJon 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 called the 2007 Red Sox pitching staff the best he's ever been associated with.[12] While he was not on Boston's postseason roster, he received aWorld Series ring following Boston's sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the2007 World Series.
On May 11, 2008, Tavárez wasdesignated for assignment.[13] 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.[14]
On May 27, 2008, Tavárez signed a contract with theMilwaukee Brewers for the remainder of the 2008 season.[15] On June 19, Tavárez was designated for assignment,[16] and rejected an outright assignment to the minors, opting instead to be released from his contract.[17]
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 one-third of an inning and gave up two runs, one earned.[18]
On March 13, 2009, Tavárez signed a minor league contract with theWashington Nationals and was invited to Spring Training.[19] When asked why he chose to sign with the Nationals, Tavárez acknowledged he had no other options: "Why did I sign with the Nationals? When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J-Lo. And to me, this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."[20] On July 19, 2009, Tavárez was designated for assignment by the Nationals.[21] He was eventually released on July 29.[22]
After playing baseball for 19 years, at the minor and major league level, Tavárez decided to retire in 2009.
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