Major League Baseball

Angels' Navarro learned first base from sister, Guadalupe

Published Sep. 23, 2014 1:19 a.m. ET

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If Efren Navarro makes the Los Angeles Angels' postseason roster, he can thank his glove. 

There isn't much that the versatile corner guy can't snag at first base and there's rarely a play he can't make. The Angels' rookie has made only one error at first base this season, only one less than he's made in the outfield - a position he only began playing this year. 

It's the glove that Navarro was known for while growing up nearby Lynwood. He was called lots of things because of his defensive prowess - Houdini, the Witch - because regardless of who threw it where, Navarro could pick it. 

So if he makes that postseason roster, he can thank the person behind his glove: His sister, Guadalupe Navarro. Guadalupe, an accomplished former softball player, was the one who taught her brother how to play first base.

"She was a really, really good first baseman, they would call her 'The Hoov' like the (Hoover) vacuum cleaner," Navarro said. "That's where everything started for me. She pretty much guided me through my younger baseball career."

Guadalupe, seven years older than her brother Efren, was extremely active both as a child and even through her post college years playing several sports. But it was softball that she excelled at and Efren wanted to be like his big sister.

"I remember my dad took me to a softball game to see my sister play," he said. "At the time I couldn't tell the difference between baseball and softball so I told my dad I wanted to play softball. He's like, 'No son, I'll get you into baseball.'"

He signed up for baseball and him and Guadalupe got to work. She would hit grounders to him in their front yard, they worked on foot work and fundamentals. His instincts were strong, much like those of his sister. She gave him drills and instructions: Throw the ball off the wall. If you miss, you do jumping jacks. 

He still uses some of her teachings today.

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"I still do that today, I still throw the ball off the wall just to work on my picks," he said. 

While he might be the one that gets the credit for the athletic career, he still continues to be in awe of his sister's athletic accomplishments.

Guadalupe played at Long Beach City College before transferring to Cal State Dominguez Hills. She played in the short-lived Ladies League, the league that was created after the release of the movie "A League of Their Own." She only played a year with the Long Beach Aces before deciding that she was done playing softball, but to her brother, it's an accomplishment that rivals his.

"My dad, he jokingly tells me that if my sister was a boy that she would be in the big leagues, that she's better than me," Efren said. "It was a fun competition between us."

Some of his favorite baseball memories are going to the batting cages and taking grounders with his sister. He still maintains that Guadalupe would be a big leaguer if she were a man; she still watches and gives him advice. 

"She was by far one of the best first basemen I've seen, as far as girls," he said. "I watched her in a lot of tournaments and they would always talk good things about her and that was awesome to see that."

Navarro attributes much of his success to his sister. Baseball created the bond, her teachings helped shape a career. 

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