The numbers were already promising for JT Navyac.
No one could’ve blamed any high school baseball player for losing a bit of motivation with COVID-19 threatening to end the season just as it was beginning. The Saint Louis senior shortstop started the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener last week on the mound against then-No. 1 Punahou.
It went well. Navyac went the distance for a four-hit shutout as then-No. 7 Saint Louis edged the defending state champions 1-0 at Patsy Mink Central Oahu Regional Park. Eight strikeouts. No walks.
“He threw his off-speed for strikes and located the fastball well,” Punahou coach Keenan Sue said. “He doesn’t throw the same pitch twice. We didn’t play poorly. JT was just dealing.”
The transformation of a lifelong infielder to pitching ace hasn’t changed his usage. Coach George Gusman had Navyac in his lineup at the five hole. When he’s not pitching, the right-hander assumes his duties at shortstop. He has taken ground balls from his dad and first coach, Mike, since he was 5.
“He was a good coach, a really good coach. He taught me well. Now, he’s just a fan,” Navyac said. “He sits and he’s quiet. Unless the calls are bad — then I hear him yelling.”
His slurve is unfair
His progress on the mound has dad and all Crusaders fans smiling. The snap on his slurve has frozen opposing hitters. The pinpoint location of this slurve and his fastball, 87 to 89 mph, is almost unfair.
“JT is a unique, gifted kid. Pitching-wise, he reminds me of Jordan Yamamoto,” Gusman said of the former Crusaders standout and Star-Advertiser Pitcher of the Year. “The ability to throw strikes. Jordan could catch. JT can play the infield. He leads not too much by what he says, but what he does. His work ethic, being able to accept instruction and criticisms. He’s very focused when it comes to baseball, but also on the rest of the guys on the team.
Yamamoto’s father, Larry, is the new pitching coach and has already made an impact.
“This year, with Larry Yamamoto and Scot Paiva, our new infield coach, they’re really turned it around. (Yamamoto) really helps us recovery-wise and helps us with our mechanics. He helps me build up my stamina, drills to do with bands,” said Navyac, who ran a mile the day after the start against Punahou. “Then after that, I did a bunch of band work. The idea is to get the blood flow going, get the lactic acid out of your arm, get oxygen in.”
Navyac (pronounced nay-vee-ak) did some light tossing two days after the Punahou game. By Friday, he was back at shortstop, rifling throws across the diamond.
Committed to Fullerton
Richie Vidal, Caleb Lomavita and Navyac are co-captains. Lomavita, a junior who has started since Day One as a freshman, is already committed to Cal. Navyac, who batted .362 with an OBP of .471 last year, is a commit to Cal State Fullerton. The two traveled together last season in one of the nation’s hotbeds for summer baseball in Southern California. A life of freedom and independence for nearly two months away from the islands.
“I slept in 15 different beds. I was staying with my friends, teammates’ parents and families. Me, Caleb, also Javyn Pimental (of Kamehameha) would get together and go out and eat. We were washing our own clothes,” Navyac recalled. “Caleb’s a good cook. He makes good scrambled eggs. We go to Ralph’s, which is like Foodland here, and he would get Spam, eggs. He’d just cook stuff up. Me and Javyn would wake up, there it is.”
Gusman and his team, like the rest of the state, are experiencing a stoppage in the action.
“It feels kind of weird knowing that we’re not going to have practice tomorrow,” Navyac said on Sunday. “It’s unfortunate that this is going around. It’s nobody’s fault, but I really wish we could play out the whole season.”
The Crusaders are hoping that the ILH can get back on the diamond on April 13, but at this point, overcoming a global pandemic that quickly seems like a long shot. But there’s a chance.
“I really hope the tournament’s all set up and well structured,” Navyac said. “We’re ready for anything and anybody. Style of play. Double-elimination (playoffs).”
Gusman appreciates the maturity of his leaders, even if the team doesn’t get to play those 19, 20 or 21 games in ILH play.
“JT, along with Richie and Caleb, gave us so much better leadership this year,” Gusman said. “You’re hoping players can lead and sometimes they’re just not ready for it. It’s not easy for kids to tell other kids what’s not acceptable.”
If this season is over, the work won’t stop. Navyac gets his daily cuts, gets a lot of long toss in with his dad carrying a bucket of balls. He works on everything.
“If you don’t know JT, you don’t know how fast he is,” Gusman said. “He’s gifted with his arm and baseball IQ, but he’s also very fast. That’s why he’s a special player. If he hits a ground ball to short and you take your time, he’s going to beat it out.”
Looking forward
The season could end with a 0.00 ERA for Navyac. With Saint Louis (2-0) as the lone unbeaten team in the ILH. There won’t be any ILH Champion T-shirts for the 2020 Crusaders baseball team, though it could have happened. Instead, there remains hope, even if doesn’t bear fruit this spring, that optimism will continue into the next endeavor for Navyac and his teammates. Life will move on.
“Wherever they want me to play. I love to pitch and challenge people, but I like to swing it, too,” he said. “Defensively, I like getting the ball in the 6-hole and throwing them out, throwing the double play with my teammates.”
The game has given Navyac the chance to travel all over the U.S., as well as Japan, where his grandparents on his mother’s side live. On his father’s side, there is a bit of a puzzle.
Sometime in the 1910s, Navyac’s great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island, one of five brothers who sailed across the Atlantic from Poland. In the midst of the crowd, they were separated as they cloistered into different places in lines. All five got their last names spelled differently by the immigration clerks. To this day, Mike Navyac and his family have no idea where their cousins are, let alone what their names are.
“Personally, I think I’m related to people named Novak, like Nick Novak. He was a kicker. There was a guy named (Steve) Novak in the NBA,” Navyac said.
He has a 3.4 grade-point average and enjoys digital media class. Maybe a roots-themed project will become a reality one day as he travels across the continent again.
Dad and mom hope to make the trek occasionally to see their only son play for the Titans.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to visit depending on travel costs. Fullerton plays here next year, so we’ll get to see that, hopefully,” Mike Navyac said.
JT NAVYAC
Saint Louis baseball * Senior
Q&A / FAVORITES
>> Athlete: Javier Baez of the Chicago Cubs “His swag, his presence on the field, his passion for the game, too. His number is 9, which is my number, too, but that’s also my birthdate.
>> Team: Los Angeles Dodgers “The past two summers, I’ve been going to Dodgers games. My summer ball coach (Benny Bonilla of TB SoCal) has connections so we go onto the field and got to meet players. He knows (Dodgers manager) Dave Roberts because his son played for the same program. The past New Year’s, Cody Bellinger came down for the camps. He stayed with my other summer ball coach, Donny Kadokawa of Kado Baseball. I got to spend three days with him.”
>> Toughest opposing batter: Kalae Harrison of Punahou
>> Food (at home): Mom’s homemade gyoza “My mom (Kei) buys the wraps, but the pork filling, she makes. It’s awesome! Pan fry. I’ve got to learn to make some stuff.”
>> Food (eating out): Zippy’s Korean fried chicken “You can’t go wrong with that.”
>> Movie: “Rookie of the Year” “Gary Busey’s in the movie. I’ve probably seen it 25 times at least. I love that movie.”
>> TV show: “The Office” “I’ve probably watched the whole series, like, six times. It’s a good show. Dwight (Rainn Wilson), he’s the funny one. I think he’s the best one.”
>> Teacher: Mrs. (Jo Ann) Boncales of Mid-Pacific “My seventh-grade teacher. She was like my second mom, at school.”
>> GPA: 3.4
Class: Lunch. And Digital Media.
