*Italian Heritage Doubtful/Unlikely
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Card: 1989 Upper Deck #32
Position: C
playerbio
Player Bio:
Daniel Michael Firova (born October 16, 1956 in Refugio, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He caught 17 games: 13 in 1981 and 3 in 1982 for the Seattle Mariners, and 1 in 1988 for the Cleveland Indians. In most of those games, he entered late in the game as a defensive replacement. He came to the plate a grand total of 7 times with no hits or walks.
While Dan was a student at Refugio High School, he sustained a serious hand injury, accidentally cutting off one of his fingers while cleaning a band saw in shop class. Despite this, he earned a two-year baseball scholarship at Bee County College. After that, he played baseball at Pan American College, where he earned his degree, and was subsequently drafted by the Mariners. He spent two seasons in the minor leagues with various teams, made his major league debut for the Mariners on September 1, 1981, and played in 13 games. He also played in two games in 1982, but primarily spent 1981, 1982, and 1983 with the Nuevo Laredo Tecolotes of the Mexican League.
Firova returned to the Mariners organization in 1985, and remained with them through 1987. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1988, and played in one major league game for them. He spent 1989 with the Chicago Cubs organization, then played in the Mexican League through 1993. Firova served as the manager of Vaqueros Laguna in the Mexican League. He began managing in the Mexican League in 1993, and was named that league's Manager of the Year in 2000.
The Washington Nationals announced on December 15, 2015 that Dan would serve as Bullpen Coach with the team. His contract with them expired after the 2017 season. Firova was announced as the manager for the Class AAA Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League for the Spring Tournament of the 2018 season. On January 28, 2021 Firova joined the Houston Astros to serve as Quality Control Coach.
Researcher Gene Leggitt informs Baseball Amore that Dan is not of Italian heritage, resulting in the “Doubtful” notation.
(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)
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This player has no additional cards on Baseball Amore.
tourstops
*Dan is also part of the Italian Ancestry Unsure/Doubtful Tour – Next Page
Dan is also part of the Cleveland Indians Players Tour – Go To the Next Stop
See all Firova’s baseball cards at TCDB