Retired Javier ready to branch out as forester

NEW YORK — Mariners outfielder Stan Javier has his baseball retirement plan in place. His vision of the future is so clear, even 7 million trees can't obscure it.

Javier, a veteran of 17 seasons, played his final major-league game Monday night in a 12-3 loss to New York in the American League Championship Series. Rather than capitalize on his name by opening a hitting school, Javier plans to go home to his native Dominican Republic and start a forest.

With the help of two partners who are making a $31 million investment, Javier expects to plant 15,000 to 20,000 acres of mahogany and teak trees by 2003. The venture is both a business opportunity and a way to fulfill a social obligation.

"We did some research and found that if we keep cutting trees and not planting them, we're going to run out of forest," Javier said. "It can be devastating. We just want to start something, and maybe other people can follow us."

Javier, 37, is part of an established baseball family tree. His father, Julian Javier, played second base for the St. Louis Cardinals and named his son after Hall of Fame outfielder Stan Musial.

Stan Javier was the consummate role player. He batted .269 with 1,358 major-league hits, primarily as a spare outfielder for Oakland, San Francisco, the Mariners and five other clubs.

Javier is known as a selfless team player and exceptional clubhouse presence. He's so friendly and approachable that even Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln has a running banter with him.

"I tell him he needs to get some Grecian Formula for that gray hair," Lincoln said. "They had Yogi Berra throw out the first pitch the other day and I said, 'Stanley, you used to play with Yogi Berra, didn't you?' "

Javier's native Dominican Republic has produced a slew of All-Stars, from Sammy Sosa to Pedro Martinez to the Alou family, amid poverty and pockets of uncommon natural beauty.

Last December, Javier invited a Seattle friend, Robert Miracle, to his homeland for a golf vacation. Javier and Miracle first met when their daughters attended the same tennis camp.

The visit included a round at The Teeth of the Dog, a course designed by renowned golf architect Pete Dye, and a tour of the farm where Javier is growing 100,000 mahogany trees.

"Stan explained to me how mahogany is becoming extinct and how much he loves the woods," Miracle said. "He's very passionate about it."

After Javier and associates in the Dominican devised a business plan, Miracle and Noriyuki Matsuda agreed to provide funding for the Javier's Farm Forest Project. Miracle and Matsuda are partners in a closely held software company called Sourcenext Inc., with offices in Japan and Seattle.

Miracle said the group expects to make a $476 million profit from its $31 million investment once the first crop of fully grown trees is harvested in 12 years. While Honduran mahogany is popular for everything from furniture to boats to pianos, supply isn't keeping up with demand. Miracle said the wood grows primarily in a thin band of about 20 countries around the equator.

Javier and Miracle expect their venture to create 200-300 jobs for workers who'll plant trees and tend the farm. They also want to open an apprentice school in the Dominican Republic where students can learn the art of making mahogany furniture.

Javier is providing more than just a prominent name. He helped put together a 24-page plan that addresses pest control, organic fertilizer production, roads and soil conservation.

"I have to be involved from top to bottom, for as long as it takes to get everything going," Javier said.

While his involvement doesn't preclude an eventual return to the majors as a coach or manager, Javier will spend at least the next year or two tending to matters in his own backyard.

"Stan's put his heart and soul into it," Miracle said. "He loves this project."