Julian Tavarez

Julian Tavarez Carmen

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut August 7, 1993
• Final Game July 19, 2009
• Born May 22, 1973 in Santiago, Santiago, D.R.

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Biographical Information

Julian Tavarez spent his career as a journeyman swing man, appearing in both the rotation and the bullpen with several teams with a total of 828 appearances over 17 seasons. He was well-known for his durability as well as his temper. Julian's temper often carried over into his pitching which is why he retired as one of the all time leaders in hit batsmen: with 97, he cracked the top 100 all-time, even though he only pitched a little over 1,400 innings. He pitched for 11 different teams between making his debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1993 and finishing his career with the Washington Nationals in 2009.

He led the National League with 89 games pitched for the San Francisco Giants in 1997; he went 6-4, 3.87 but did not record a save in 88 1/3 innings. He won in double figures in four different seasons, with three seasons of 10 wins and one of 11 with the Colorado Rockies in 2000. His career high for innings was 161 1/3 with the Chicago Cubs in 2001, when he finished at 10-9, 4.52 and made 28 starts in 34 appearances. He was never much of a strikeout pitcher, with a career high of 107 that same year. For his career, he recorded only 5.4 strikeouts per 9 innings, a very low total for a pitcher with a long career.

In the mid-1990s, when Tavarez became an American citizen, he changed the pronunciation of his name from the Spanish to the English (from a soft j or h sound, to a hard j).

Tavarez was the second Dominican hurler in their 9-0 shutout win over Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He replaced Johnny Cueto with two outs in the 5th inning and gave up an Angel Chavez single before retiring Ruben Rivera. In the 6th, he got Carlos Lee to fly out, struck out Julio Zuleta and got Javier Castillo on a grounder. Carlos Ruiz opened the 7th with a single and Rafael Perez relieved Tavarez.

He was a longtime star in the Caribbean Series, pitching in eight of them and winning five titles - 1994 (1-0, 1.23; he was an All-Star), 1997, 1998 (he was the All-Star RHP), 2001 and 2007. He won four titles with the Águilas Cibaeñas and one with the Tigres del Licey. He made the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024, in a class with Odell Jones, Francisco Campos, Jesús Feliciano and César Tovar.

Notable Achievements

• NL Games Pitched Leader (1997)
• Won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites

• Julian Tavarez at the SABR Bio Project