04/07/2026
The definition of hard work, perseverance, and open-mindedness. It's harder now than it was back then! Give yourself opportunities by opening up options at various levels, and around the country.
This ex-equipment manager signed for $1 on his way to making MLB history 👇
Daniel Nava was only 4’8” and 70 pounds as a high school freshman.
After riding the bench as a high school junior, he got his first chance to start for the Varsity team as a senior.
“When I did play, I was just so small, so I didn’t do very well."
By his senior season, he’d grown to about 5’5”.
While he batted ninth in the order, the team often pinch-hit for him.
He finished his senior year batting .270. Good, but not good enough to get college looks.
So after graduation, he went to Santa Clara University to major in psychology and walk on to the baseball team.
In the fall, he went to an open tryout, hoping his summer growth spurt would be enough to make an impression.
“He was about 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds," said then-head coach Mark O'Brien.
"He showed up, and he could barely hit the ball out of the infield.”
After getting cut, Daniel was ready to quit for good.
"I wasn't thinking about anything in terms of a baseball career," he said. "I thought I was done."
But Coach O’Brien liked his attitude, so he offered him a chance to stay on as the team’s equipment manager.
Nava helped out wherever he could: fetching water, keeping the book, sh****ng fly balls at batting practice, and washing uniforms in the middle of the night.
Another part of Daniel's job was filming pitchers and hitters in games.
During those late nights doing laundry, he found himself poring over the footage.
“I learned a lot about pitches and approach and what to look for and what not to look for. It sounds weird, but I did learn a lot from that.”
Little did he know that those film sessions would pay off later.
During his sophomore year at Santa Clara, the tuition was becoming too expensive to afford.
So Nava transferred to the nearby College of San Mateo – a local community college that was much friendlier on his wallet.
One day at the gym, an old friend convinced him to try out for San Mateo’s baseball team.
By then, he’d grown to 5’10” and was starting to fill out his frame.
This time, Daniel made the final cut. Even still, he didn’t expect to play.
But to his surprise, the coach gave him a shot.
After cracking the starting lineup, he hit .430 and .384 in two seasons, earning JUCO All-American honors and helping the team win back-to-back conference titles.
Nava still had another year of eligibility left, and that’s when his old friends at Santa Clara called.
They didn’t just offer him a spot on the team – they gave him a scholarship.
Just like that, the Broncos’ former equipment manager returned as the team’s starting left fielder.
He led the West Coast Conference with a .395 batting average and a .494 on-base percentage.
But when the MLB Draft rolled around, his phone stayed silent.
Instead, he showed up at a tryout for the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League.
After an underwhelming showing, they cut him.
“So I didn’t play for a whole year. I was trying to get picked up, trying anything to play somewhere. But every door got shut.”
Then, after a year away from baseball, his phone finally rang. It was the Chico Outlaws circling back.
“They called me up and told me that one of their players wasn’t able to make it out, so if I wanted a chance to play – I wasn’t even guaranteed a shot – that I could cruise on up there and try out for the team.”
This time, the Outlaws kept him around.
In his first year swinging a wooden bat, he hit .371 and won MVP of the Golden League.
Baseball America ranked Nava at the very top of their 2007 indy league prospect list.
Eventually, the article made its way to the desk of Jared Porter from the Boston Red Sox.
He later bought Nava’s rights for $1 – the lowest amount possible for an MLB team to purchase a contract.
He dominated each level of the minor leagues from 2008 to 2010, batting a combined .331 from Single-A through Triple-A.
“I’ve always been told ‘you need to prove it at the next level.’ I think that has a lot to do with why what I’ve done has been kind of under-the-radar.”
In June of 2010, the Red Sox called him up to the big leagues.
From there, things unfolded quickly.
With the bases loaded, he launched the very first pitch he saw into the right-field seats for a grand slam.
"As I was rounding the bases, I think that's when I kind of said, 'Oh man, I just hit a grand slam. That's probably why I was sprinting the whole time, because I was so obviously pumped for that moment and that opportunity. It's pretty ridiculous."
With that swing, Nava became just the second player to ever hit a grand slam on the first pitch of his major league career.
Three years later, he had the best year of his career.
In 134 games, Nava hit .303 with 12 homers and 66 RBI, helping the Sox go from worst to first – from dead last in the AL East in 2012 to winning the World Series in 2013.
“You don’t script that stuff. It just happens…I honestly felt honored and blessed to be a part of it.”
After another two seasons in Boston, Nava spent time with the Rays, Angels, Royals, and Phillies before calling it a career.
The kid who was never expected to get more than one Varsity hit had accumulated 452 of them in the big leagues.
Never give up on your dreams! 💪
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