Dioner Navarro
Encyclopedia
Dioner Favian Navarro Vivas (born February 9, 1984) is a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

n professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

, who is a free agent.

New York Yankees

In 2000, Navarro was signed by the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 as an amateur free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. In 2003, with the Double-A Trenton Thunder
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...

, he hit .341 in 58 games and was selected as the Yankees minor league player of the year and was the top-ranked prospect in the Yankees organization heading into 2004.

Navarro made his Major League debut with the Yankees on September 7, 2004, playing against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

, and played in seven games, batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .429 (3-for-7) with one RBIs
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

 and two runs scored.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Before the 2005 season, Navarro was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...

 with Javier Vázquez
Javier Vázquez
Javier Carlos Vázquez is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Previously, he pitched for the Florida Marlins , Atlanta Braves , Chicago White Sox , Arizona Diamondbacks , New York Yankees and Montreal Expos . Vázquez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico...

 and Brad Halsey
Brad Halsey
Bradford Alexander Halsey is currently a pitcher in the New York Yankees organization.-Amateur career:Halsey attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he was the No...

 for Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....

. That same day, the Diamondbacks traded Navarro, Beltrán Pérez
Beltrán Pérez
Beltrán Ogilbio Pérez is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in , he was traded in to the Los Angeles Dodgers with Dioner Navarro for Shawn Green...

, Danny Muegge and William Juarez to the Dodgers for Shawn Green
Shawn Green
Shawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...

.

In 2006, both Navarro and Russell Martin
Russell Martin
Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr is a Canadian Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees.Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his Major League debut, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years...

 were invited to spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 to compete for the starting catcher. Both played well, but at the end of the spring Navarro was named the Dodgers' catcher, and Martin was sent to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s
Las Vegas 51s
The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...

. However, while Martin thrived in Las Vegas, Navarro played only adequately in Los Angeles, and showed signs of inexperience. On May 5, 2006, Martin was called-up to the Dodgers after a wrist injury landed Navarro on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...

. Martin played well after the injury to Navarro, and kept the job as catcher, as Navarro was demoted to the minor leagues.

Tampa Bay Rays

On June 26, 2006, Navarro was traded along with pitcher Jae Seo and outfielder Justin Ruggiano
Justin Ruggiano
Justin Marshall Ruggiano is a Major League Baseball outfielder in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.-Baseball career:Ruggiano played college baseball at Texas A&M....

 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

 for catcher Toby Hall
Toby Hall
Toby Jason Hall is a Major League Baseball catcher who is currently with the Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball....

 and pitcher Mark Hendrickson
Mark Hendrickson
Mark Allan Hendrickson is an American Major League Baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Baltimore Orioles. Hendrickson is also a retired National Basketball Association power forward who played 114 NBA games before becoming a pitcher full-time. He is one of just 12 athletes to play in both...

. Navarro made his debut as a Ray on June 28, 2006 against the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...

 going hitless with two walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

.

In 2007 he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 only .227 and tied for the lead of all major league catchers in errors, with 14.

Navarro was much improved in 2008, after working on his hitting and his strength in the Venezuelan Winter League with Tiburones de La Guaira
Tiburones de La Guaira
The Tiburones de La Guaira are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, the Tiburones have won seven national championships since their founding in 1962.-History:...

, leading his team with a .295 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 and guiding his pitchers to the third-lowest ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 in the majors (3.60) as of July 10. On July 6, it was announced that Navarro was selected to be on the American League squad for the 2008
2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, home of the New York Yankees, on...

 MLB All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

.

During the 2008 offseason, Navarro went to arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...

 with the Rays; he lost and was given $2.1 million dollars.

Of the AL players with at least 350 plate appearances in 2009, only one had a lower OBP, two had a lower AVG, and two had a lower SLG.

Navarro's batting average continued to slide in 2010, resulting in the loss of playing time to John Jaso
John Jaso
John Edward Jaso is an American professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.-Baseball career:...

 and Kelly Shoppach
Kelly Shoppach
Kelly Brian Shoppach is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is nicknamed Shop.Shoppach was traded to the Indians from the Boston Red Sox organization on January 28, 2006, as part of the same deal that saw outfielder Coco Crisp sent to Boston and highly regarded prospect Andy...

. Shortly after the latter returned from injury, Navarro was sent to the Rays' Triple-A team, Durham Bulls
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are...

, having cleared waivers because of service time.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Navarro signed a one year contract to return to the Dodgers for the 2011 season. He began the season on the disabled list due to an injury suffered in spring training and did not join the Dodgers until April 25. Three times during the season (June 19, July 9, and July 20), he drove in the sole run in a 1-0 victory, which only happened once before (Gary Sheffield
Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield , nicknamed "Sheff", is an American retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for eight major league ball clubs from 1988 to 2009, primarily as an outfielder.-Biography:...

 in 2001
2001 Los Angeles Dodgers season
The 2001 season saw Jim Tracy take over as the Manager, after serving as the Bench coach the previous two seasons. The Dodgers won 86 games, finishing third in the Western Division of the National League, six games behind the eventual World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks.Shawn Green had his...

) in Los Angeles Dodger history. Navarro was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on August 23, 2011. In 64 games, he batted .193 with five home runs and 17 runs batted in. He was released on August 30.

Personal life

Navarro was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and married his wife, Sherley, at age 18; they have a son, Dioner Jr. (b. 2005), and she has a son, Gerson, from a previous relationship. They have lived in the Tampa Bay Area
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...

 during offseasons since he was drafted and first signed by the Yankees, and currently live in Riverview, Florida
Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida
Riverview is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located near Brandon. The population was 71,050 at the 2010 census....

.

On September 27, 2003, their first wedding anniversary, Sherley suffered a cerebral aneurysm
Cerebral aneurysm
A cerebral or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel.- Signs and symptoms :...

 in Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

. Doctors gave her less than a 5% chance of surviving surgery, and said it was likely she would die on September 30. She survived, and made a full recovery. Navarro has worn the #30 in her honor ever since.

On July 5, 2006, days after his acquisition by the Devil Rays, Navarro's SUV was clipped by another vehicle, causing his SUV to roll over. He and his family escaped serious injury, but the other vehicle fled the scene.

His son, Dioner Jr., was born with multicystic dysplastic kidney
Multicystic dysplastic kidney
Multicystic dysplastic kidney is a condition that results from the malformation of the kidney during fetal development. The kidney consists of irregular cysts of varying sizes and has no function....

. He needed to have one of his kidneys removed in September 2006, and further surgery in 2007.

His mother, who still resides in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, suffered a cerebral aneurysm in early February 2008. Navarro left the Rays' pre-spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 workouts to be with her and returned when her condition stabilized.

Navarro is an animal lover who has five pets: Lilo (a French bulldog
French Bulldog
The French bulldog is a small breed of domestic dog, related to the English bulldog and American bulldog.-History:The origin of the modern French Bulldog breed descends directly from the dogs of the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe. The dogs were spread throughout the ancient world by Phoenician...

), Crystal (English bulldog), a chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...

 called Jeffrey, and two birds that do not have names.

External links

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