Lipso Nava

Lipso Nava
Leones del Caracas – No. 21
Coach
Born: (1968-11-28) November 28, 1968
Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
CPBL statistics
Batting average.167
Hits1
Home runs0
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

Lipso Nava (born November 28, 1968) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach who is the current manager of the Leones del Caracas of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He is also a longtime coach in the San Francisco Giants organization. In his native Venezuela, he has twice received manager of the year honors, both times with the Águilas del Zulia.[1] Nava played in the minor leagues, the Mexican Baseball League, and the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Playing career

Nava was drafted as a shortstop out of Miami Dade College by the Seattle Mariners in the 14th round of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft.[2] Nava made his pro debut with the Bellingham Mariners of the Northwest League before promoted to the High-A Carolina League (1991–1992) and the Double-A Southern League (1993–1994).[3] He was released by the Mariners and signed by the Boston Red Sox in the 1995 offseason, spending time at Double-A Trenton and High-A Sarasota.[4][3] He finished his time in affiliated baseball in the Chicago Cubs organization, reaching Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs in 1997.[3]

Nava played in the independent Atlantic League from 1998 to 2006, with the Somerset Patriots, Camden Riversharks, and Newark Bears. He also played in the Mexican Baseball League with the Langosteros de Cancún (1998), Rojos del Águila de Veracruz (2001), and the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (2001). In Taiwan, he made two appearamces with the Macoto Cobras of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.[3]

In Venezuela, Nava played 12 winter league seasons with the Águilas del Zulia. He posted a .276 batting average with the team, with 13 home runs and 157 runs batted in; he was also part of the team that won the championship in the 1999-2000 season.[5]

Coaching career

Nava managed the Augusta GreenJackets in the 2011 and 2012 seasons.[6] He was appointed acting manager of the San Jose Giants in 2015, leading the club to a North Division title and a beth in the California League finals. He managed the San Jose in the full seasons of 2016, 2018, and 2022.[7] In 2022, Baseball America named Nava the best managerial prospect in the California League.[8][9] Since 2023, he has served as fundamentals coach for the Richmond Flying Squirrels.[10][11]

Nava first managed in the LVBP with Zulia in the 2011–12 season, taking over after the firing of Mako Oliveras; he led the team to a berth in the playoff round robin with a record of 28 wins and 17 losses. He returned to helm Zulia in the 2016–17 season.[12] He led the team to the LVBP title after a 33-30 regular season, defeating the Cardenales de Lara in the final, and won Manager of the Year honors.[13] He became the first member of the Águilas franchise to win a championship with the club as both a player and a manager.[14] Nava also managed Zulia at the 2017 Caribbean Series, losing to Criollos de Caguas in the semifinals.[15] In the 2017–18 season, he again led the team to the postseason, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Cardenales de Lara. Partway through the 2018–19 season, Nava was fired by the Águilas on December 7, 2018, after posting 18-25 record.[16]

Nava was set to serve as bench coach for the Navegantes del Magallanes for the 2019–20 winter league season, but was unable to do so after MLB barred its players and other affiliates from playing in the LVBP in 2019.[17][18] He instead skippered the Caimanes de Barranquilla in the Colombian league; Caimanes were knocked out in the semifinals. Nava spoke positively of the quality of play in Colombia, but was critical of the league and the team's management for supposed oversights.[17]

He returned to Águilas for the 2024–25 season.[19] Nava again won a manager of the year award following the season, after leading the Zulia to a 30-26 record in the regular season, securing the team's first playoff round robin appearance in five years.[20][21][1]

Nava served as third base coach for the Italy national baseball team at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.[22][23]

On May 7, 2026, Nava was named manager of the Leones del Caracas for the 2026–27 LVBP season.[13]

Personal life

During the 2002–2003 unrest in Venezuela, Nava was robbed at gunpoint and nearly kidnapped outside his home in Maracaibo. He blamed then-president Hugo Chávez for precipitating the unrest.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Lipso Nava repite como Mánager del Año". Correo del Caroni. 8 January 2025. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  2. ^ "PENINSULA PILOTS". Daily Press. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d "Lipso Nava". Baseball Reference (minors).
  4. ^ "Thunder Storms Gators". The Day. 12 June 1995. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Lipso Nava espera devolverle el ADN ganador al Zulia". Meridiano. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  6. ^ "Winning Manager, Hitting Coach to Return to Augusta". MiLB.com. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  7. ^ "San Jose Giants Announce 2022 Coaching Staf". MiLB.com. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Baseball America highlights several SF Giants prospects at Single-A with standout tools". Sports Illustrated. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  9. ^ "Lipso Nava mánager del año en California". Lider en Deportes. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  10. ^ "Giants set 2024 Flying Squirrels coaching staff". MiLB.com. February 16, 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Giants set 2026 Flying Squirrels coaching staff". MiLB.com. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  12. ^ "Zulia designó a Lipso Nava como manager". LVBP. 23 March 2016.
  13. ^ a b "LVBP's Leones del Caracas Name Lipso Nava Manager For 2026-27 Season". World Baseball Network. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  14. ^ "Así recuerda Lipso Nava el quinto título de Águilas del Zulia logrado hace 25 años". No. 29 January 2025. Noticia al Dia. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  15. ^ "Lipso Nava: "Las derrotas son parte del béisbol"". Version Final. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  16. ^ "Águilas despide a Lipso Nava, Álvaro Espinoza y Wilson Álvarez". Version Final. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  17. ^ a b "Lipso Nava vivió una experiencia agridulce en Colombia". LVBP. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  18. ^ "M.L.B. Bars Players from Venezuelan Winter League". The New York Times. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  19. ^ "Águilas apuesta a su resurgir con Lipso Nava". BeisbolPlay. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Lipso Nava se alzó con su segundo premio Manager del Año en la LVBP". MLB.com. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  21. ^ "LVBP: Lipso Nava se alza como el Manager del Año (+Video)". Meridiano. 7 January 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  22. ^ "The Italian National Team Coaching Staff for the World Baseball Classic". FIBS.it. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  23. ^ "Lipso Nava llevará su experiencia al Clásico Mundial como coach de Italia". El Extrabase. 19 January 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  24. ^ "Baseball players affected by civil unrest in Venezuela". Newspapers.com. The Courier-News. 12 June 2003.
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