[Gotham Dark Knight]

...So I boarded my flight to Orlando on Midwest Air yesterday and got to sit next to this nice lady who reminded me a lot of my mother. I asked her if she spoke Spanish. She said she did and started a conversation. It turns out she was on her way back from a trip to Italy where her son is playing ball. She casually mentioned that her son is former big league pitcher Jamie Navarro. the guy had 116 lifetime wins in the big leagues including three seasons of 15 or more wins. What's more, her husband was former big league pitcher Julio "Whiplash" Navarro who pitched in the big leagues from 1962-1970. For the next few hours we talked about their careers and what its like to be the wife and mother of major leaguers. The highlights of the conversation was as follows:

Gene Autry and the California Angels:

Her husband pitched in 1962-64 for Autry's Angels when they shared Chavez Revine with the Dodgers. She said Autry was a class guy who was very protective of his players. the Angels were a great organization and her favorite stop in the big leagues.

Racism in Detroit:

Unlike their stay in Califorina, she said that when her husband was traded to Detroit, they were met with a lot of racism in some of the Detroit suburbs when they looked for housing. This was in 1964-66, and not all major league cities where created equal then.

Salaries:

Her husband signed on for about $7,000 a year, which is nothing compared to what her son has made in the big leagues. I didn't ask about Jamie's salary in the big leagues, but according to baseball-reference.com, he has made over $30 million over his career. What a difference a few decades make. Her husband also received about $125 for appearing on Topps baseball cards, while the figure she mentioned for her son was in the high five digits.

Baseball Cards:

She had a stack of Jamie Navarro cards with her that he has signed for her in Italy. She gave me one...the card appears below. Classy lady who spoke highly of her husband and son. I really enjoyed my flight back home.

[Lefty Noob]

Wow, great story Goth. Thanks for sharing! She sure does sound like a classy lady all right!

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Wow, great story Goth. Thanks for sharing! She sure does sound like a classy lady all right!

Yeah, I even asked which player was better of the two...and she refuse to give me an answer saying they both where good within their own style of pitching...