Toyama Wind Dancers Blog
Ivan Juarez, the Toyama icon, has hung up his glove after 18 years, all of which were with the Toyama/Lupin organization. Juarez retires as the last player to have ever played for the Lupin Cliffhangers before the team rebranded to the Wind Dancers. Juarez joined the organization in 2022 as an international FA from Cuba and played in what would be Lupin’s final season in the PEBA before becoming the Wind Dancers in 2023. A legend on the field and in the Toyama community, Juarez became a fan favorite immediately with his calm demeanor and leadership in the dugout. He became a mainstay in the lineup as a hit-for-contact third baseman who could see the plate well and embodied patient hitting. As the new core of Toyama prospects started entering the PEBA in 2033, Juarez took a back seat as a platoon bat and took on more of a leadership role in the dugout. Juarez ends his career with 1,686 hits, 528 RBIs, and 248 SBs. His final slashline was .265/.349/.345 with a 34.3 WAR.
During his early years in Toyama, Juarez was taken under the wing of Shiro Adachi, now the Wind Dancer's hitting coach but formerly their second baseman. Adachi played a similar role as a consistent, albeit unspectacular infielder who did his job on the field but led the team off of it. The two developed quite the report in the infield and after Adachi retired in 2028, Juarez took up the mantle of being the "captain". during the period of upheaval in Toyama, went the old guard was gone and a new core was in the very early stages of forming, Juarez was the constant. As the Wind Dancers were bottom of the division scraping together waiver pickups and 1-year contracts for veterans just waiting for prospects to develop, Juarez was very much the "big name" in Toyama dominating jersey sales even though the team was struggling. His work ethic, laid-back personality, and activeness in the local community quickly made him Toyama's honorary son as he became more of a fixture around the city as an everyday guy who happened to play baseball. He would regularly help organize baseball camps, make random appearances at local batting cages, and even spend a season coaching a local tee-ball team that his son was on. Having earned his Japanese citizenship, Juarez sees himself as a Toyama native.
While his playing career has come to an end, he won’t be going far. The now-Japanese citizen has been announced as the manager for Toyama’s SA affiliate the Osakasayama Swamp Dragons with an eye on moving up the ranks in time. Juarez spoke of his excitement to get into coaching and trying to instill that team-first humble mindset that he was taught in his early days as a Wind Dancer. While he'll be moving ~400km south, he will still be keeping his home in Toyama likely because of his connection to the city, but possibly a foreshadowing of his potential return. So as the final Cliffhanger retires, his impact will be felt for generations in the teammates he played with and the players he will coach. Toyama's son enters his next chapter.
