Roy Hobbs Lives: Daniel Nava Stars as the Natural

There aren't so many parallels between Roy Hobbs and Daniel Nava. Nava was cut from his university baseball team and Hobbs was cut down by a psychpath's bullet. Hobbs is fictional and Nava is real. But there are a few broad parallels. And that's where it gets interesting.

In this age of cradle-to-athletic-grave data driven analysis, it is highly unusual for an athlete who has been reviewed, labeled and rejected to later emerge in the major leagues. Daniel Nava did just that. Like Hobbs, his appearance created a "who's that and where did he come from?" reaction.

Nava recovered from being cut and staying on to be the manager of the University of Santa Clara baseball team. From there, he got a short-lived minor league tryout (after having been passed over in the baseball draft) before eventually making a name for himself in the Independent League.

From there, the King of Baseball Database Analysis - Theo Epstein - found him and took a flyer. A $1 flyer. That's all it took to purchase Nava's rights. On Saturday, Nava completed his ascent through the minors and joined the Red Sox to help fill the gaps that Andre Beltre has created in their outfield.

Nava stepped to the plate with the bases loaded against the Phillies who have been to the previous two World Series. The first pitch to Nava resulted in a grand slam, only the fourth such occurrence in baseball history. He's had 4 hits in his first 8 at bats, with 5 RBIs. 

Of course it will be interesting to see where this all goes, For the moment, it's a great feel-good story that even Bernard Malamud - were he still with us - might consider writing. Let's hope there are a lot more major league hits left in Wonderboy redux.