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Welcome to Face to Face
I first heard of Daniel Nava through Mark Teike, my pastor friend from St. Peter’s Lutheran church. He sent me a story about this minor league baseball player who had overcome some incredible odds to get into the Boston Red Sox farm system. Pastor Teike had met Daniel’s father Don, a “holistic fitness coach” and he thought I might be interested in the story of his son. I am always interested in “underdog” stories, so I agreed in March to call Daniel and try to set up an interview at the Red Sox minor league complex in Ft. Myers, Florida.
I love minor leaguers. They are so anxious to have anyone pay attention to them, and often I will not only interview them, but take them to dinner. I agree to stay in touch with them and let them know I am praying for them, and encouraging them. When I sent a text message to Daniel, I was not surprised when he immediately responded. My plan was to drive down to Ft. Myers from Sarasota, where I was staying and do the interview. However, after numerous attempts, it didn’t happen. The Red Sox have a number of minor league teams training, and Daniel and I could never quite figure out where he would be on a certain day. I had to return to Indiana before we could get the interview done. But the texts kept coming. Though I had never met him, I was beginning to feel a certain closeness to this young man, who was pursuing his dream.
As the season started, he was assigned to the Pawtucket Red Sox, the highest Boston farm team located in nearby Rhode Island. We agreed to meet when the Paw Sox came to Indianapolis to take on their rival, the Indianapolis Indians. Last Thursday, hours before the game was to begin, Daniel and I sat on a concourse behind the right field stands, and he told me his story. As a freshman in high school in the California bay area, he was 4’8” and weighed 70 pounds. He had also spent time as a batboy for the baseball team at nearby Stanford University.
But he enjoyed playing and despite his size, he played all four years. He did not have a great career. “I was really small,” he said, “throughout high school, I played against guys who had already grown. When I did play, I usually batted ninth.” Upon graduating from high school, he enrolled at nearby Santa Clara University, and tried out for their team, but was cut. To stay in the program, he became a manager, washing uniforms, and helping to water the field among other odd jobs. After two years, he was convinced that his baseball career was done, and was out of money to pay for Santa Clara, but a friend encouraged him to try out for the local junior college team.
It was here that his size and his career began to take off. In fact, he did so well in his two years at San Mateo Junior College that Santa Clara brought him back for his senior season and offered him a scholarship. He laughs thinking about it now. “Guys on the team would say, ‘What, are you back as a manager.’ I said, ‘No, I’m playing.’” He responded by leading the team in hitting. But there was still no future in baseball. Out of eligibility, he sat out for a year after college in 2006, then decided to try his hand at independent baseball, playing for a team with no affiliation to the majors. He went to the Chico Outlaws in northern California, but again he was cut. However, on the way home, he got a phone call saying he could come back. One of their players had decided to get married and end his career. That was the break he needed.
Daniel had a great year. He hit .371 and was named by Baseball America Magazine as the #1 Independent League player in the nation. But still, the major league teams weren’t very interested. Finally the Red Sox agreed to sign him in 2008. They paid the Outlaws $1 for his contract. Its probably the best bargain the Red Sox have ever made. For the past two years, he has been the best hitter in the Red Sox minor league system. But he doesn’t care about that. As we walked into the empty stands Thursday, he said, “Don’t tell me my stats. I don’t want to know.” The interview focused on his journey and his faith. Daniel is a humble player who talks often about the role God plays in his life. When asked about it, he says, “What it has done for me, this whole process, has shown me that it is too big for me to control, too big for me to handle. It has taken the focus off of me, and put it on Him.” As the interview closed, he told me his favorite passage is Romans, chapters 4 through 6 which talks of Abraham’s faith.
Our Sardinia Baptist Church attended last Friday night’s game and Daniel had agreed to come over and say “hello” after the game. But on the way to the game, I got one more text from him. It said, “Tom, I thought I’d be one of the first to let you know, I’m on a plane to Boston tonight. No guarantees I’ll get activated, but there’s a chance.”
The next day, Saturday, June 12, 2010, Daniel Nava got his chance. He stepped into the box at Fenway Park to face Joe Blanton of the Philadelphia Phillies. And he made history. On the first pitch, with the bases loaded, he sent the ball over the right field fence into the Boston bullpen, becoming only the fourth player in major league history to hit a grand slam home run on his first at bat. What an entrance into the majors.
Now 5’10” and 200 pounds, his name is forever etched in Red Sox history. No more washing uniforms. No more long bus rides playing in half empty stadiums. I was anxious to hear from him and late Saturday night, I got one more text from Daniel. It said, “Hey Tom, great to hear from you. We both know its God.”
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