Pedro Chávez (minors01)

Pedro José Chávez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 162 lb.

• Born February 23, 1962 in Los Teques, Miranda Venezuela

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Pedro Chávez played eight seasons in the Detroit Tigers organization, reaching the AAA level (where he played five years). He later was a scout.

Chávez debuted as a pro with the Leones del Caracas in the 1980-81 Venezuelan Winter League, going 4 for 16 with a double. His US debut came that summer with the Macon Peaches; he hit .247/.266/.309 with only 8 walks in 99 games while he fielded .926 at short. In 1981-82, he was 5 for 22 for the Leones. With the Lakeland Tigers in 1982, he batted .268/.299/.343 and fielded .929 at SS. After a 3-for-12 winter, he split the summer between the Birmingham Barons (.224/.291/.245 in 20 G) and San Jose Bees (.277/.319/.367). His walk total was climbing slowly (now up to 23) and he stole 23 bases in 29 tries.

He became a regular for Caracas in the winter of 1983-84, posting an average of .248 while slugging .277. In the summer, he continued his climb, making it to AAA. He fielded .958 at SS between the Barons (.237/.298/.285 in 60 G) and Evansville Triplets (.269/.319/.356 in 88 G). While not drawing huge numbers of walks, he now had 42 and it was now longer a glaring weakness. He rapped 26 doubles and scored 73 runs on the year. He was 6th among Tigers farmhands in doubles (between Bob Melvin and Scotti Madison) and tied for 6th in runs.

Pedro fell to .197/?/.256 for Caracas in 1984-85, then had a rough summer, again split between AA and AAA. Now being used as a utility infielder rather than a starter, he hit .222/.282/.243 in 55 games for the Barons and .227/.281/.299 in 51 contests for the Nashville Sounds. He went from the Leones to the Navegantes del Magallanes in the winter and rebounded with them, hitting .276 and slugging .340. He was 3 for 17 in the postseason.

The Los Teques native spent all of 1986 with Nashville, backing up Scott Earl at 2B, Doug Baker at SS and German Rivera at 3B. Getting into 122 games, he hit .258/.317/.336. He was third in the 1986 American Association with 16 times caught stealing, behind Chico Walker and Dwight Taylor. He hit .267/?/.339 for the 1986-87 Navegantes and tied for 4th in the LVBP with four triples. In 1987, he split time between the Glens Falls Tigers (.339/.386/.487 in 63 G) and Toledo Mud Hens (.285/.326/.430 in 54 G), smacking 12 home runs and scoring 78 runs. He tied Arnie Beyeler and Scott Lusader for 3rd in the Tigers chain in runs, tied Rivera and Paul Felix for 8th in home runs, was 6th with 186 total bases and was second to Bernie Anderson in average (a composite .317).

Chávez hit .329 and slugged .417 for the 1987-88 Navegantes. He was third in the loop with 14 doubles, second with 71 hits (two behind Luis Salazar) and 6th in average (between Omar Vizquel and Billy Bean). In the postseason, he batted .241/?/.379. He ended his US playing career with the '88 Mud Hens, hitting .222/.289/.248 in 38 games. In 840 minor league games, he had batted .262/.309/.341 with 380 runs and 283 RBI. He had fielded .942 in 566 games at SS, .962 in 138 at 2B and .918 in 120 at 3B.

Back in Venezuela in 1988-89, he hit .250 and slugged .298 and followed with a .279 average and .337 slugging the next winter. He was only 1 for 28 with a double in the postseason in 1989-1990. In 1990-1991, he returned to his old Leones club and hit .304/?/.348 as a solid bench contributor. He hit .226/?/.323 in the postseason. He did not play in 1991-1992 then hit .264/?/.327 for the Caribes de Anzoategui in 1992-1993, winning Comeback Player of the Year honors. He tied for 8th in the league with 12 doubles. In 1993-1994, he batted .233/?/.293 for the Caribes, then he ended up with a .140/?/.175 campaign in 1994-1995. In 536 regular-season LVBP games, he had hit .260/?/.319 with 181 runs and 140 RBI.

After his playing days, he was a Tigers scout, signing Javier Betancourt, Anthony Castro, Avisail Garcia, Francisco Martinez, Wilsen Palacios, Hernán Pérez, Bruce Rondon, Luis Sanz, Miguel Socolovich, Jesús Ustariz and Danry Vasquez.