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Born
On December 1, 1992 Javier Baez was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He was born to his mother, Nelida Agosto, and his father, Angel Luis Baez. -
Javier's Dad passes away.
When Javier was eleven tragedy struck his family. His father, Angel Luis Baez, died in an accident. Javier was shocked, "I was 11 years old. I went from being a child who saw his father every day to never seeing him again. It was very difficult"(Rivera). Javier had learned baseball from his dad and this event drastically changed his life forever. Even though his father was no longer with him in body, Javier got a tattoo of his nickname, Nene, on his left forearm so his Dad is always with him. -
Drafted By Cubs
After the death of his father, Javier's mother moved the family to Jacksonville, Florida. Javier hit .771 his senior year of high school and had scouts, professional and college, hooked (Rupenthal). On June 6, Javier was drafted 9th overall in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He elected to skip college (he had previously committed to Jacksonville University) and turn pro as soon as high school ended. This would lead to a treacherous journey through the minor leagues. -
Makes MLB Debut
On August 5, 2014 Javier Baez made his MLB debut. It was a lifelong goal of his to make it to the big leagues. He thanked everybody who had supported him over the years in an Instagram post (Baez). This was a massively important day in his life because it reassured him that all of his hard work had finally paid off. This was also the beginning of something great. In Javier's first at-bat he hit a game winning home-run. This home-run set the stage for the beginning of a great career(Mastony). -
Javier's sister Noely Dies
In early 2015, Javier endured yet another tragedy. His sister, and biggest fan, passed away of April 8th. His sister, Noely, had a rare disease called spina bifida and passed away because of complications of this disease. Even though Javier knew that this day would eventually come, he was saddened. He even considered giving up baseball stating "'that if she (Noely) goes away, I didn't want to play baseball. I didn't want to do anything(Baez)'(Mastony)". -
Wins NLCS MVP and sends the Cubs to the World Series
After Javier returned to baseball, he was a different player. He began to hit like crazy and became one of the Cubs rising stars(Mastrony). In 2016, he helped the Cubs reach the World Series for the first time in 71 years. Because of his great play in the field and timely hitting he was named the Co-MVP of the NLCS(Fox Sports). Javier, or "Javy" as the fans call him, has found a home in the middle of the Cubs order and the hearts of the fans. link= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm0mgNZTR9M
