View source for Julián Javier

{{Short description|Dominican baseball player (born 1936)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{family name hatnote|Javier|Liranzo|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name       =Julián Javier
|image      =Julián Javier in 2017 - 1967 St.Louis Cardinals Reunion team (cropped).jpg
|caption    =Javier in 2017
|position   =[[Second baseman]]
|bats       =Right
|throws     =Right
|birth_date ={{birth date and age|1936|8|9}}
|birth_place=[[San Francisco de Macorís]], [[Dominican Republic]]
|debutleague=MLB
|debutdate  =May 28
|debutyear  =1960
|debutteam  =St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague=MLB
|finaldate  =October 1
|finalyear  =1972
|finalteam  =Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label =[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value =.257
|stat2label =[[Home run]]s
|stat2value =78
|stat3label =[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value =506
|teams=
*[[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1960}}–{{mlby|1971}})
*[[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1972}})
|highlights=
*2× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1963]], [[1968 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1968]])
*2× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1964}}, {{wsy|1967}})
*[[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum|St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame]] 
|medaltemplates=
{{MedalSport | Men's [[baseball]]}}
{{Medal|Country|{{bb|DOM}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Baseball at the Pan American Games|Pan American Games]]}}
{{MedalGold | [[Baseball at the 1955 Pan American Games|1955 Mexico City]] | [[Dominican Republic national baseball team|Team]]}}
}}
'''Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo''' ({{Respell|hoo|lee|AN hah|vee|ER}}; born August 9, 1936), is a Dominican former professional [[baseball]] [[second baseman]]. He played in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) from 1960 to 1972, most prominently as a member of the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] where, he became a two-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] player, and was a member of two World Series winning teams ({{wsy|1964}}, {{wsy|1967}}). He played his final season with the [[Cincinnati Reds]].

A light-hitting defensive specialist, he was nicknamed "'''Hoolie'''" by his teammates, and "'''the Phantom'''" by teammate [[Tim McCarver]] for his ability to avoid [[base running|baserunners]] sliding into second base. Javier was an integral figure in the history and development of baseball in the Dominican Republic, founding multiple baseball leagues as well as the [[Gigantes del Cibao]] of the [[Dominican Professional Baseball League|Dominican Winter League]].<ref name="sabrbio">{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/julian-javier/|first=Paul|last=Geisler Jr.|title=Julián Javier Baseball BioProject|work=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|access-date=June 23, 2024}}</ref> His son [[Stan Javier]], also played in Major League Baseball. In 2022, Javier was inducted into the [[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum|St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/fans/hof-vote |title=St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame at MLB.com |work=mlb.com |access-date=23 June 2024 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Julian became a well-known baseball phenomenon in his hometown 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 Dominican Republic at a Pan American Games. That team also had another future all-star major leaguer [[Felipe Alou]].

==Trade to Cardinals==
The [[right-handed]] batting Javier signed as an amateur [[free agent]] with the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] in {{by|1956}}. Coming up through the minor leagues, Javier became known as "the fastest man in [[baseball]]."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hBxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6113,276318&dq|title=Pirates let Two Go|newspaper=[[St. Joseph News-Press]]|date=October 2, 1959}}</ref> 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, {{mlby|1960}} with a [[pitcher]] to be named later for [[Vinegar Bend Mizell]] and [[Dick Gray]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=w1oyAAAAIBAJ&pg=4637,6162260&dq|title=Pirates Live Only for Now|newspaper=[[Miami News]]|date=May 28, 1960}}</ref> The next day, he made his [[major league debut]] starting at second base for the Cards against the [[San Francisco Giants]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196005280.shtml|title=San Francisco Giants 8, St. Louis Cardinals 0|publisher=[[Baseball-Reference.com]]|date=May 28, 1960}}</ref>

==Emerging as an All-Star==
Javier led the Cardinals in [[stolen base]]s every year from 1960 to {{mlby|1963}}. His finest season was {{mlby|1962}}. Sharing lead-off duties with [[Curt Flood]] in [[manager (baseball)|manager]] [[Johnny Keane]]'s batting order, Javier stole a career-high 26 bases and scored a career-high 97 [[run (baseball)|runs]]. Javier led an [[inning]] off with a [[hit (baseball)|hit]] or [[base on balls|walk]] 61 times for a .347 [[on-base percentage]] leading off innings.

When Pirates second baseman [[Bill Mazeroski]] was unable to start the [[1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1963 All-Star game]] due to injury,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oh9OAAAAIBAJ&pg=5420,770943&dq|title=National League Favored in 34th All-Star Game|newspaper=[[Victoria Advocate]]|date=July 8, 1963}}</ref> Javier was added to the starting line-up. Along with [[Bill White (first baseman)|Bill White]] at [[first base]], [[Dick Groat]] at [[shortstop]] and [[Ken Boyer]] at third, they formed an all-Cardinal starting [[infield]] for the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RNBRAAAAIBAJ&pg=2833,1445400&dq|title=Some All-Star Firsts|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|date=July 10, 1963}}</ref>

==World Series champion==
After never finishing better than third in any of the first three seasons of Javier's career, the Cardinals were in a heated battle with the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] for first place in the National League for most of the {{mlby|1963}} season. The Dodgers came to [[St. Louis]] a game ahead of the Cards on September 16 for a three-game set. Javier went two-for-fourteen with two [[error (baseball)|errors]] in this crucial series. The first error came in the ninth inning of the first game, allowing the Dodgers to score the final run of their 3–1 victory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xp5PAAAAIBAJ&pg=5796,3445687&dq|title=Davis, Podres Give Cards the 'Willies'|newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=September 16, 1963}}</ref> The second error occurred on a [[Dick Tracewski]] ground ball in the thirteenth inning of the final game,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SktfAAAAIBAJ&pg=5782,2225615&dq|author=Mike Rathet|date=September 18, 1963|title=Dodgers Win 6-5 in 13 Innings, Sweep Series|newspaper=[[Warsaw Times-Union]]}}</ref> allowing the Dodgers to complete the three-game sweep on their way to winning the National League pennant.

Javier drove in a career-high 65 runs and dropped to the seven spot in the batting order in {{mlby|1964}}. The [[1964 St. Louis Cardinals season|1964 Cardinals]] came back from eleven games out of first place on August 23 to win their first NL pennant since {{mlby|1946}} on the last day of the regular season by one game over the [[Cincinnati Reds]] and [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. When they faced the [[New York Yankees]] in the [[World Series]], Javier was limited to one pinch-running appearance due to a bruised hip.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6CIhAAAAIBAJ&pg=5105,2699569&dq|title=St. Louis to be Without Javier Again; Keane Says Cards are Not Hitting Well|newspaper=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]]|date=October 10, 1964}}</ref>

==Dominican Professional Baseball League suspension==
During the off-season, Javier caused some controversy in the Dominican League while playing with the [[Aguilas Cibaenas]]. During the winter league play-offs in the Dominican Republic after being called out on strikes by home plate [[umpire]] [[Emmett Ashford]]. Javier struck Ashford who during his 12 years in the PCL became the best-known umpire for being " a showman, exuberant, strong, alert, loud and expressive," recalled Paul Wysard of Ashford's' days in the PCL. The incident was initiated when Javier showed his dislike to the second called strike and Javier took his time to get back in the batter's box, Ashford instructed the pitcher to pitch without Javier being in the batter's box and called him out on strike infuriating Javier who voiced his discontent and got into an argument with expletives being called by both Javier and Ashford and then Javier struck Ashford twice in the face, Ashford responded hitting Javier back with the mask. Javier was originally suspended indefinitely by the [[Dominican Professional Baseball League]], but after Javier pleaded his case and told his side of the story it was eventually cut to three days and fifty dollars, prompting Ashford to resign from the league.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KGkzAAAAIBAJ&pg=4636,1793815&dq|title=Umpire Ashford. Ashford quit the Dominican Republic league in Wake of Javier Row|newspaper=[[Lodi News-Sentinel]]|date=January 26, 1965}}</ref>

After a contract dispute<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GhNiAAAAIBAJ&pg=4865,1663983&dq|title=White Signs with Cardinals|newspaper=[[Star-News]]|date=February 11, 1965}}</ref> and visa problems<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=giw_AAAAIBAJ&pg=4963,1535218&dq|author=Fred Down|date=March 4, 1965|title=Good News for Dodgers|newspaper=[[Windsor Star]]}}</ref> caused Javier to miss part of [[spring training]] {{by|1965}}, a broken hand caused Javier to miss a month and a half of the regular season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1kJGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3966,3900863&dq|title=Cards Add Dennis to Replace Javier|newspaper=[[Schenectady Gazette]]|date=June 22, 1965}}</ref> In his absence, the Cardinals used a revolving door of second basemen that included [[Jerry Buchek]], [[Phil Gagliano]] and [[Dal Maxvill]]. Javier was never able to regain form upon his return in August, as he batted just .195 with eight [[runs batted in]] over the rest of the season.

The World Series champions finished a disappointing 80–81 and in seventh place [[Red Schoendienst]]'s first season at the helm. Each member of St. Louis' aging infield was replaced heading into the {{mlby|1966}} season with the exception of Javier.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-_9NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2458,1280497&dq|author=Jack Hand|date=March 19, 1966|title=Gussie and Stan Escape Card Trade|newspaper=[[The Free Lance–Star]]}}</ref> The team showed modest improvement, but still managed only a sixth-place finish. For his part, Javier batted just a .228 with thirty RBIs, both career lows for a full, healthy season.

==1967 World Series==
After two subpar seasons in a row, Javier headed into spring training {{mlby|1967}} battling Phil Gagliano for the starting second base job.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rBpEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3230,5800012&dq|title=Javier and Cards Bat Detroit, 6-2|newspaper=[[Williamson Daily News]]|date=March 27, 1967}}</ref> Javier ended up winning the job and carrying the Cards to victories in their first six games, batting .435 with two home runs and eight [[runs scored]]. His [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] hovered around .300 through the middle of July, as he finished the season at .281 with 64 RBIs and a career-high fourteen home runs. He was one of four Cardinals players to finish in the top ten in National League [[MLB Most Valuable Player award|Most Valuable Player]] balloting.

The Cardinals won 101 games in {{wsy|1967}} to cruise into a rematch of the {{wsy|1946}} World Series with the [[Boston Red Sox]]. In the second game at [[Fenway Park]], Boston's [[Jim Lonborg]] came four [[out (baseball)|outs]] away from recording the second [[no hitter]] in World Series history until Javier connected for a two-out [[double (baseball)|double]] in the eighth.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196710050.shtml|title=1967 World Series, Game Two|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 5, 1967}}</ref> In the seventh and deciding game, Javier connected for a three-run home run off Lonborg to seal St. Louis' 7–2 win.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS196710120.shtml|title=1967 World Series, Game Seven|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 12, 1967}}</ref> He also had an RBI in the Cardinals' 6–0 game four victory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196710080.shtml|title=1967 World Series, Game Four|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 8, 1967}}</ref>

He earned his second career All-Star nod when Red Schoendienst named him as a reserve on the {{mlby|1968}} NL team.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fBscAAAAIBAJ&pg=5705,693479&dq|title=Mays All-Star for 17th Time|newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Press]]|date=July 3, 1968}}</ref> The Cardinals won 97 games in {{wsy|1968}} to repeat as National League champions. They lost a seven-game World Series to the [[Detroit Tigers]] in which Javier batted .333 with three RBIs. He drove in the lone Cardinals run of their 13–1 game six loss.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196810090.shtml|title=1968 World Series, Game Six|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|date=October 9, 1968}}</ref>

==Cincinnati Reds==
Following the {{mlby|1970}} season, Javier began having back tax issues with the [[Internal Revenue Service]] that threatened his availability for the {{mlby|1971}} season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yJ4gAAAAIBAJ&pg=1024,3660905&dq|title=People in the News|newspaper=[[Lewiston Evening Journal]]|date=October 2, 1970}}</ref> Coupled with Javier's age (34 at the start of the season), this prompted Cardinals GM [[Bing Devine]] to trade [[Dick Allen|Richie Allen]] to the Los Angeles Dodgers for former [[Rookie of the Year (award)|Rookie of the Year]] [[Ted Sizemore]] and minor league [[catcher]] [[Bob Stinson]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pytSAAAAIBAJ&pg=6816,7221311&dq|author=Milton Richman|author-link=Milton Richman|date=October 10, 1970|title=Allen's Big Salary Factor in Trade to Dodgers|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times}}</ref>

Javier managed to get his tax issues in order and reported to Spring training on time. He was the Cardinals' opening day second baseman due in part to an injury to Dal Maxvill that limited his availability, and had Sizemore opening the season at short.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://retrosimba.com/2012/03/18/why-cardinals-career-had-sour-ending-for-julian-javier/|title=Why Cardinals career had sour ending for Julian Javier|publisher=RetroSimba - Cardinals History Beyond the Box Score|date=March 18, 2012}}</ref> After a slow start, he was back in the Dominican for two weeks to be with his ailing younger brother, Luis. Following Luis' death,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Az9SAAAAIBAJ&pg=7373,496106&dq|title=Sports in Brief|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=April 21, 1971}}</ref> Javier returned to the Cardinals to bat .352 with two home runs and fifteen RBIs through the end of May. A dismal June (.088 batting average) prompted Schoendienst to shift Sizemore back to second and return Maxvill to short. Javier ended the season with a .259 batting average, three home runs, and 28 RBIs in ninety games.

Unhappy with a reserve role, Javier asked to be traded during Spring training {{mlby|1972}}. The Cardinals obliged, dealing him to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher [[Tony Cloninger]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vVZhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2927,4924022&dq|title=Javier Traded to Reds|newspaper=St. Joseph News-Press|date=March 24, 1972}}</ref>

With [[Joe Morgan]] at second, most of Javier's playing time with the Reds was at [[third base]] or as a [[pinch hitter]]. He batted .209 in 91 [[at-bats]] for the Reds. The "[[Big Red Machine]]" stormed into the post-season by 10.5 games over the Dodgers. Javier did not make a [[plate appearance]] in the [[1972 National League Championship Series]] with the Pittsburgh Pirates, however, he appeared in four of the seven games of the [[1972 World Series]] against the [[Oakland A's]]. He retired at the end of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Hn4xAAAAIBAJ&pg=2998,3379287&dq|title=Pirates Deal Top Pitcher|newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]]|date=October 27, 1972}}</ref>

==Career stats==
<div>
{| class="wikitable"
|Seasons
|Games
|[[Plate appearances|PA]]
|[[At-bat|AB]]
|[[Run (baseball)|Runs]]
|[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|[[double (baseball)|2B]]
|[[triple (baseball)|3B]]
|[[Home runs|HR]]
|[[Runs batted in|RBI]]
|[[Stolen bases|SB]]
|[[Walk (baseball)|BB]]
|[[Strikeout|SO]]
|[[Batting average (baseball)|Avg.]]
|[[On-base percentage|OBP]]
|[[total bases|TB]]
|[[fielding percentage|Fld%]]
|[[Putouts|PO]]
|[[Double plays|DP]]
|-
|13
|1622
|6197
|5722
|722
|1469
|216
|55
|78
|506
|135
|314
|812
|.257
|.296
|2029
|.971
|3380
|907
|}
</div>

==Personal life==
He was married to Inés Negrin, with whom he had five sons and daughters: Julieta, Julián José, Stanley, Vienna Alexandra, and Lynette. Stan is named after friend and teammate [[Stan Musial]]. After losing his wife to [[stomach cancer]] in {{by|1997}}, he married Yolanda Then, his current wife. His oldest son, Manuel Julián, is an engineer in [[Santiago, Dominican Republic]]. His other son, Julián J, is an interventional cardiologist in [[Naples, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.julianjavierfoundation.com/index_1.html|title=Julian Javier Foundation}}</ref>

Javier founded the Khoury League in Dominican Republic, later changing its name to the [[Roberto Clemente]] League to honor the Pittsburgh Pirates legend. He also founded the Summer League, a professional baseball league with four teams in the cities of Santiago, [[Puerto Plata (city)|Puerto Plata]], [[Concepción de La Vega|La Vega]] and San Francisco de Macorís that played from 1975 to 1978. He also founded, with the help of his son Stan, the [[Gigantes del Cibao]], one of the expansion teams in the [[Dominican Winter Baseball League]] (LIDOM).

[[Estadio Julian Javier]], the stadium in Julián Javier's hometown of San Francisco de Macorís, is named after him, and is the home stadium for the Gigantes del Cibao. He was chosen the all-time second baseman for the [[Águilas Cibaeñas]], and his number (25) retired by them in the Dominican Winter Baseball League. He was inducted into the Dominican Republic Hall of Fame in {{by|1978}}, and is also a member of the [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] Hall of Fame in [[Columbus, Ohio]] for his remarkable performance with the [[Columbus Jets]] while playing in the Pirates' minor league system. He was inducted into the [[Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame]] in 2012.

He was named to the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in May 2022, and was inducted to the "Red jacket club" in August 2022.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/holliday-javier-comiskey-named-to-cardinals-hall-of-fame/article_520a61d4-6210-5472-8623-2c192cca8dc1.html | title=Holliday, Javier, Comiskey named to Cardinals' Hall of Fame | date=27 May 2022 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[List of St. Louis Cardinals team records]]
* [[List of players from Dominican Republic in Major League Baseball|Players from Dominican Republic in MLB]]

==References==
{{Reflist|3}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=116505|espn=23327|br=j/javieju01|fangraphs=1006371|brm=javier001man|retro=J/Pjavij101}}
*[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b8bf06ec Julián Javier] at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

{{1964 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{1967 St. Louis Cardinals}}
{{St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame}}
{{Leones de Yucatán managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Javier, Julian}}
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Águilas Cibaeñas players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States]]
[[Category:Douglas Copper Kings players]]
[[Category:Baseball players at the 1955 Pan American Games]]
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[[Category:Dominican Republic people of African descent]]-->
[[Category:Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball second basemen]]
[[Category:National League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Pan American Games baseball players for the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Pan American Games gold medalists in baseball]]
[[Category:Baseball players from San Francisco de Macorís]]
[[Category:St. Louis Cardinals players]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games]]
[[Category:Leones de Yucatán managers]]