Not many have a story quite like Daniel Nava’s.
The World Series champion with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 had an unusual and downright unbelievable story to get to the Majors.
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It started at Santa Clara University where he walked on in hopes of making the team.
Unfortunately for Nava, he didn’t.
But he stuck around the program for two years as an equipment manager.
Any such role for a college athletics team is a thankless and tiresome job.
Nava was so close, yet so far away when it came to actually stepping on to the diamond.
He left for a junior college where he became a Junior College All-American, injecting new life into his big league dream.
In a full circle moment, Santa Clara offered him a full-ride scholarship to come play for them and so Nava did.
He went undrafted but didn’t give up on his dream.
Nava signed with the Chico Outlaws, where the assistant director of pro-scouting for the Boston Red Sox stumbled upon him.
Boston paid Chico exactly $1 for the rights to Nava.
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The Red Sox called him up on June 12, 2010 and the rest was history.
In his first Major League at bat, Nava hit a grand slam off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton, and launched the ball into the Red Sox bullpen.
The famous voice of the Red Sox, broadcaster Joe Castiglione, spoke to Nava before his debut and gave him a bit of advice.
He told him to square up the first pitch he sees and swing as hard as he can because “that’s the only first pitch in the majors you’ll ever see.”
Nava did, and he went yard, in a fairytale-like moment.
He became only the fourth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam in his first career at bat, and only the second player to ever do it on the first pitch.
Thus, the legend of Nava grew.
He played five seasons for the Red Sox, including the 2013 World Series team.
Nava played in the Majors from 2010-2017, and also played for the Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Nava’s story is unlike any other.
From rags to riches. From equipment manager, to hitting bombs over the Green Monster.
From being worth $1, to making over $6 million in his career.
Nava never wavered.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
