Giovanni Carrara
A Venezuelan pitching journeyman who carved out a 15-year professional career across three continents, from MLB bullpens to coaching in Mexico.
Born 1968 (age 58)·Venezuelan baseball player & coach·Birthday: March 4·Generation X
Biography
Giovanni Carrara’s baseball story is one of global resilience. Born in Venezuela in 1968, his right arm became his passport, launching a professional odyssey that began in 1989. While he never settled as a star starter, Carrara mastered the art of the relief role, becoming a valuable and adaptable arm for seven different Major League teams. His career was defined by its geographic sprawl: after stints with the Blue Jays, Reds, and Rockies, he found a longer home with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where his steady presence in the bullpen from 2001 to 2005 made him a fan favorite. He even took his craft to Japan for a season with the Seibu Lions. This well-traveled experience became the foundation for his second act. After retiring, Carrara transitioned seamlessly into coaching, imparting his hard-earned knowledge to pitchers in the Mexican League, most notably with the Saraperos de Saltillo, proving his life in baseball was far from over.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Giovanni was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Giovanni Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Giovanni's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Pitched in Major League Baseball for 15 seasons across seven different teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners.
- Extended his professional playing career internationally by pitching for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
- Served as the pitching coach for the Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League following his playing career.
Did You Know?
He holds Italian citizenship alongside his Venezuelan nationality.
He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1989.
His final MLB appearance was in 2007 with the Seattle Mariners.
“You have to be ready for any situation, any inning, because that phone can ring at any time.”
