Taveras Ties Family to Softball Success

When Marina Taveras was a newborn, she was on a field most ball players can only dream of. The diamond was full of stars. David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia played on one side. Todd Helton, Matt Holiday and Troy Tulowitzki played on the other. And at the center of it all was Colorado Rockies outfielder and, more importantly, Marina’s father, Willy Taveras. 

Willy’s Rockies lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox that season. But on that hallowed ground, the Taveras family got to bring baby Marina to the field. She will never remember those moments, but they would be immortalized in photos. 

“She looks at the photos and she sees (David) Ortiz holding her,” Willy said. “We have one of her and Matt Holiday’s son, Ethan.”

The two kids in that photo are all grown up now. Ethan is currently playing in the minor leagues as a member of the Rockies farm system, and is the No. 24 prospect in baseball. He still has a ways to go to reach the top level of his sport, but for Marina, college softball is the pinnacle. 

“There’s no good paying stuff after,” she joked. “This is it for me. I really just want to take advantage.” 

So far, life at the top has been kind to Marina. She’s slashing .339/.397/.726 through her first 20 games and is tied for the team lead with six homers. Those numbers have earned her two Patriot League rookie of the week nods. And she’s coming for the Raider record books next.

The first-year home run record for a Colgate softball player is 13. Marina is on pace for 15 – and that’s not even including Patriot League tournament games. If she hits 16, she would tie the single-season record by any Raider. 

The key to Marina’s prolific start has been her swing. The swing that has hardly changed over her career. The swing that makes the same clunk on the softball nearly every time. The swing she developed with her dad.

“He definitely had a ton of influence with my swing and what it turned into,” she said. “I don’t touch (my swing) because… he helped me with it, so I don’t really want to change anything.”

Throughout Marina’s career leading up to Colgate, Willy was her only coach. But now, 1500 miles from home, she’s had to adjust to life away from him. She takes input from her Colgate coaches, but still gets advice from dad, too. 

“He gives me little reminders for my swing,” Marina said. “He’s still coaching me even though we’re so far.”

Sometimes, Marina and the Colgate softball staff will talk about her mechanics. Whenever one of them makes a suggestion, they’re usually met with the same response. 

“Sometimes we’ll suggest something to her and she’ll say ‘my dad told me the same thing,’” Colgate softball head coach Marisa Lamison-Myers said. “If we’re saying the same thing he is, we’re probably doing something right.”

All the coaching paid off quickly. In her first collegiate plate appearance, Marina smashed a home run over the left-center field wall. She wasn’t trying to hit one over the fence, but her swing drove the ball further than she meant. 

That effortless power is one of the qualities Willy believes makes Marina stand out. The Dominican Republic native says that, in his country, everyone can tell when a player has the tools to be a great hitter. Not only did he see those attributes in Marina early on, but many people he talks to have even higher praise. 

“She comes and hits the ball, and the ball just goes differently,” he said. “People (say) ‘the one that hits the most in the Taveras (family) is Marina.’”

It’s high praise, but it might not be unwarranted. Marina has always strived to be like her father. She used to watch his highlights in admiration. Years later, she’s doing damage at the plate against the best of the best. 

And now, it’s Willy’s turn to look up to his daughter.

“She’s way better (than me),” he said. “She’s a whole different level.” 

When Marina took the field at the World Series, the baseball and softball gods might have been watching on. She was given all the tools to be great. Through hard work and a constant desire to be like her dad, she’s built herself into a ballplayer who belongs on the top stage.