Something amazing happened yesterday and I had the chance to observe it. Daniel Nava, former College of San Mateo Baseball Player just a few years ago, hit a grand slam in his first at bat and with the first pitch he saw in the major league play.
Daniel became the talk of Boston and around the country in one swing. I am very proud of him as he is such a great guy and of course a former College of San Mateo Bulldog.
Check out the video below of Daniel’s first Major League at bat:
Nava has overcome all odds to play at the major league level:
- He weighed 70 pounds as a high-school freshman.
- He was cut from the baseball team at Santa Clara and became the team manager washing uniforms
- He came to the College of San Mateo because his parents could not afford tuition at Santa Clara and he played for the Bulldogs for two years where I got the chance to work with him and observe his strong work ethic.
- He went back to Santa Clara on scholarship for just one season and hit .395, but was bypassed in major league draft.
- He joined the independent Chico (Calif.) Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League and he was cut with no where to go.
- After taking a year off baseball, the Outlaws of Chick gave him another shot and he made the most of it.
- He was signed by the Red Sox to minor-league deal after hitting .372 for Chico for $1
- He will now make the major league minimum of approximately $350k and go down in the record books for being one of the two players in history to rip a grand slam on the first pitch of their careers. He also got a double in his first game.
- He then got two more hits today and is batting .500 (4/8) with 5 RBI’s.
A day to remember, a player to watch. I think we will continue to see great things from Daniel.
If you can not see the video above go to: Baseball BLOG
In Fitness and Health,
Brien Shamp
www.BaseballPerformanceEdge.com
650-654-4604
