Julián Javier

Manuel Julián Javier Liranzo (born August 9, 1936 in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic), best known as Julián Javier [hoo-lee-AN hah-vee-ER], is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter. He played with the St. Louis Cardinals (1960–71) and Cincinnati Reds (1972). He is the father of former big-leaguer Stan Javier.

Javier was strictly a good-contact singles hitter, one who jumped on high fastballs and hit them up the middle. He was also a good hit-and-run man, and one of the best bunters in the league. He hit left-handed pitchers extremely well. A smart baserunner, he was quick enough out of the box to avoid hitting into double plays, and never hesitated to take the extra base. As a second baseman, Javier was a master at handling slow rollers, with good range to both sides, and at snagging pop-ups while running with his back to the infield. He turned the double play fearlessly.

On July 9, 1963, Javier and teammates Bill White (first baseman), Dick Groat (shortstop), and Ken Boyer (third baseman), combined for an all-Cardinal, starting National League All-Star infield. He played again in the 1968 All-Star game. The same year, he was considered in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) selection (9th).

A .333 hitter in nineteen World Series games, Javier belted a three-run home run in Game Seven of the 1967 World Series, to help pitcher Bob Gibson win his third Series game against the Red Sox and bring the World Championship to the Cardinals. In Game Two of that Series, he broke up Jim Lonborg's bid for a no-hitter by doubling with two out in the eighth; this would be the Cardinals' only hit on the afternoon.

In his 13-season career, Javier hit .257 with 78 home runs, 506 RBI, 722 runs, 216 doubles, 55 triples, and 135 stolen bases in 1,622 games.

Julián Javier (called Hoolie by his teammates) was also given the nickname "The Phantom" by Tim McCarver, for Javier's abilities to avoid runners sliding into second base. Javier is in the Triple-A Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio for his remarkable performance with the Columbus Jets while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliates' minor league team. He was also inducted to the Dominican Republic Hall of Fame in 1978.

He was married to Inés Negrin, with whom he had five sons and daughters: Julieta, Julián José, Stanley, Vienna Alexandra, and Lynette. After becoming a widower, he married Yolanda Then, his current wife. His oldest son is Manuel Julián Javier, an engineer in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Julián's son Stan Javier, named after Stan Musial a friend and teammate of Julian with the Saint Louis Cardinals, played in the major leagues for eighteen years with multiple teams. His other son, Julian J , is an interventional cardiologist in Naples, Florida.

Julián Javier founded the Khoury League in Dominican Republic, later changing its name to 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, 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.

See also

• Players from Dominican Republic in MLB

External links

• Page at Baseball Library
• Statistics and analysis at Baseball Reference