Julián Javier | |||
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Second baseman | |||
Born: San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic |
August 9, 1936 |||
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MLB debut | |||
May 28, 1960, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 30, 1972, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .257 | ||
Home runs | 78 | ||
Runs batted in | 506 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Manuel Julián (Liranzo) Javier (born August 9, 1936 in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic), better known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Called Hoolie by his teammates, he was also nicknamed "The Phantom" by Tim McCarver for his ability to avoid baserunners sliding into second base. He is the father of former big-leaguer Stan Javier.
Julian became a well known baseball phenomenoun in his home town of San Francisco de Macoris. As an amateur, he was a third baseman as well as a power hitter. It is legend that he has hit the longest home runs in the high school stadiums of San Francisco de Macoris to this date. He went on to represent the Dominican Republic in the 1955 Pan American Games, although he did not see much playing time, the team went on to win the first gold medal for the Domincan Republic at a Pan-American Games. That team also had another future all-star major leaguer Felipe Alou.
The right-handed batting Javier signed as an amateur free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1956. Coming up through the minor leagues, Javier became known as "the fastest man in baseball." He batted .250 with twenty home runs in five years in their farm system, and had emerged as one of their top prospects when he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 27, 1960 with a pitcher to be named later for Vinegar Bend Mizell and Dick Gray. The next day, he would make his major league debut starting at second base for the Cards against the San Francisco Giants. He would solidify the position for the next twelve seasons, and has played more games at second base than any player in franchise history.