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Vincent "Sandy" Nava, Extra Catcher
Sandy Nava came to Providence as a 32-year-old rookie back-up catcher in 1882. According to his death certificate, his mother was Mexican, and he appears to have been very dark-skinned in the 1884 team picture. This was just before the color line was formally instated, and at least two Afro-American ballplayers (the Walker brothers) were in the majors that year. Some claim that Nava was the first Hispanic player in the major leagues. Nava and Charley Sweeney were both San Francisco natives, and came to Providence in the same year. In 1884, he caught almost all of Sweeney's games, but otherwise warmed the bench. In late May, he filled in at shortstop for three games while Irwin fell ill, and Sweeney then took the days off. Upon Nava's return behind the plate on June 2, Sweeney struck out 13 men, and Nava "gave Sweeney brilliant support, making several astonishing stops." The June 18 paper noted that "Nava has been supporting Sweeney in fine style." On June 23, he apparently got hurt during a game, and sat for three weeks. Sweeney pitched to Gilligan for a couple of games, and suddenly came up with a very sore arm. Nava returned by July 17, but for some reason Gilligan was catching in the fateful July 22 game when Sweeney stormed off the field in the ninth inning and was expelled from the league. Few of the authors who have discussed Sweeney's tantrum have noted his close working relationship with Nava; I think Nava could have calmed the big guy down if he had been catching. With Sweeney gone, Nava was just a bad backup catcher. His career was about over. The day after Sweeney's expulsion, Nava was sent out to pitch in an exhibition game. For the next month, he filled in occasionally for injured infielders, and caught on some of Radbourn's rare days off the mound. On August 27, he had to lend his Grays uniform to Larry Corcoran of the Cubs, who had left his own uniform on the road somewhere and was forced into center field for Chicago due to an injury. On August 28, while Nava was filling in for an injured Gilligan, Old Hoss Radbourn gave up four runs in a game, his worst showing in almost a month. On the 30th, with Nava still there, Radbourn gave up five. It was the last game Nava ever caught for the Grays. On September 13, the Grays left Providence on a big road trip; Nava was left behind with similarly disgraced pitcher Cyclone Miller to guard the fort. On September 20, the Journal reported that Nava traveled up to Boston to watch Sweeney pitch in the Union League. On October 4, Nava and Miller were "loaned to the military team at Fort Monroe, Virginia, where they will play for the next five or six weeks." Nava was never much of a hitter, but had an amazingly bad year at the plate in 1884, going 11-for-116 for an .095 batting average. The press never picked up on this. The only criticism he ever received was for "slow baserunning" on June 4. His sole job was to catch Sweeney, considered to be the hardest thrower in the league. Nava got some phenomenal games out of Sweeney, who went 17 and 8 before breaking down. Though Sweeney finished out the year in good style without Nava in the Union League, he never amounted to anything after 1884. Nava's career was also virtually over. He caught a scant few games in Baltimore in 1885 and 1886, and disappeared. He died in Baltimore in 1906. copyright Rick Stattler 2002 |
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