Former CSM player on incredible journey

Switching positions -- especially in baseball -- in mid-career usually don't work out too well. But it has for Ricky Navarro. The former College of San Mateo outfielder was recently drafted -- as a pitcher -- by the Normal Cornbelters, a team out of Illinois that plays in the independent Frontier League. "I'm really happy I'm getting this opportunity to play in the Frontier League," said Navarro, who was signed after a stellar campaign in the Arizona Winter League, the nation's premier winter instructional league serving as a showcase for professional and aspiring professional baseball players. "It's kind of a weird path I took, but I'm here." Is he ever. Navarro, a Half Moon Bay resident who will be turning 26 in July, is leaving for Normal at the end of the month. It's pretty ironic Navarro will be playing in a city called Normal, because his path to get there has been anything but. The 2002 Gunn High-Palo Alto graduate had been out of competitive baseball for two years when he graduated from University of the Pacific in '07. That's when he made a decision of a lifetime in hopes of trying to revive his lifelong dream of one day playing baseball professionally. Armed with a gun for an arm, Navarro decided to start pitching, something he had done sparingly as a youth. After playing for two years at CSM in the '04-05 seasons -- where he put up modest numbers -- Navarro transferred to UOP. But the 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander didn't play at the Stockton school, partly because of differences with the coach. "(After I graduated) I realized I probably wasn't going to play any more baseball (continuing as an outfielder), so that's why I started pitching," said Navarro, who primarily played right field at CSM and never pitched a single inning while at the junior college powerhouse. Although Navarro's decision turned golden, it's not as if his transformation from hitting to pitching came easy. Far from it. He had to put in a lot of hours honing his craft, all the while changing his mentality. Shortly after graduating, Navarro hooked up with Jimmy Escalante, who is the pitching coach for the Kane County Cougars, a Class-A affiliate of the Oakland A's. The two had been friends for a while, and it was Escalante who taught Navarro everything he needed to know about pitching. Through Escalante, Navarro was able to throw a bullpen session with the A's during their spring training season two years ago. Navarro obviously didn't make the team but received a lot of positive feedback. "It was a good experience," he said. "It kind of gave me the encouragement to keep throwing. I guess Jimmy saw potential in me as a pitcher and once he did, he started breaking down my mechanics. (Starting out) I only knew how to throw from the outfield, so he pretty much taught me how to pitch." Count longtime CSM coach Doug Williams as a believer. Last month, Navarro threw during an intrasquad scrimmage at CSM, and Williams came away impressed. "He's got good command, good breaking stuff and he's confident," Williams said. "He's got a good presence out there. His velocity was up there pretty good, I'd say consistently in the upper 80s, with a good, hard breaking ball. Ricky possessed quite an arm back then (for us), too, and certainly is capable. He's a guy who had a dream and it's good to see him get a contract and be able to pursue a pro career because you have to show some ability. They're paying him to play. It's not easy (to go from hitter to pitcher), and it certainly speaks volumes of his work ethic and everything he's done to get to this point." Indeed, Navarro sacrificed plenty. His own money, in fact. Like everyone else in the Arizona Winter League, Navarro had to put up money to play. "You pay to play," he said. "I got a deal on it, but it was still pretty expensive ($1,500). Some guys paid upwards of $2,300. It's kind of pricey but a lot of Major League scouts and minor league coaches are there (in Yuma). It's a little over a month long and they basically scout you. Everyone there is basically fighting for a job." Things couldn't have gone much better for Navarro, who recorded four wins, a 3.46 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 30 innings during the AWL's 35-day schedule. This year, the league had eight teams featuring 176 players from seven countries. Fifty-five players who competed in the league received contract offers, including Navarro, who also credits his two years playing for the semi-pro Palo Alto Oaks the last two summers as giving him a boost of confidence entering the AWL. Navarro was actually looking for pro tryouts when he learned of the AWL. Navarro's first go-around in the league occurred two years ago, but he wasn't nearly as polished back then as he is now. Plus, an injury derailed his efforts to be drafted. Now that everything has come full circle, Navarro can hardly wait for his pro career to begin. "Luckily, everything worked out," Navarro said. In reality, there was nothing lucky about Navarro's baseball transformation.