Dave Garcia

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Dave Garcia
San Diego, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB statistics
Games618
Win–loss record307–311[1]
Winning %.497
Teams
As manager

As coach

David Garcia (September 15, 1920 – May 21, 2018)

Cleveland Indians (1979–82). Including three games as acting manager of the 1975 Indians, during his first coaching tenure there, he compiled a career record of 310 wins and 311 defeats (.499).[3]

Career

Garcia was born in

right-handed
was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).

He began managing at age 27 in

minor league organization over the next two decades (1949–55; 1957; 1964; 1967–68). He also coached for Triple-A Minneapolis (1956) and scouted for the Giants (1957–63; 1965–66). Garcia then joined the San Diego Padres as a minor league manager in 1969, their maiden National League
season.

The following season, in his 50th year, Garcia finally reached the majors as San Diego's third-base coach. He coached with the Padres (1970–73), Indians (1975–76; 1979) and Angels (1977) and in 1977 he was named manager of the Angels when Norm Sherry was fired on July 11. While the Angels continued to stumble under him in 1977 (with a 35–46 record), the Halos stood at 25–20 when Garcia was released in favor of Jim Fregosi on June 1, 1978.

Garcia got another chance to manage with the Cleveland Indians when Jeff Torborg was fired on July 23, 1979. Cleveland played at a 38–28 clip under Garcia for the remainder of the season, and compiled a mark of 52–51 during the strike-shortened 1981 campaign, but they never finished higher than fifth in the American League East. After a sixth-place finish in 1982, Garcia was fired. But he remained in the game into his mid 80s, as a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers (1983–84), a special assignment scout for the Brewers and Kansas City Royals, and — from 200002 — a coach with the Colorado Rockies. Garcia was named to the Rockies' staff when he was 79 years of age by then-skipper Buddy Bell.[6] He also scouted for other MLB teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs.

As a minor league manager in the Giants, Padres and Angels organizations, Garcia won 889 games and lost 796 (.528) and won three championships. He is one of only four individuals to play, coach or announce professional baseball during part of eight decades. (Vin Scully, Tommy Lasorda and Don Zimmer being the other three.)

Managerial Record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Games Won Lost Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
CAL 1977 81 35 46 .432 Interim
CAL 1978 46 25 21 .543 Fired
CAL total 127 60 67 .472 0 0
CLE 1979 66 38 28 .576 Interim
CLE 1980 160 79 81 .494 6th in the AL East
CLE 1981 50 26 24 .520 6th in the AL East
53 26 27 .491 5th in the AL East
CLE 1982 162 78 84 .481 7th in the AL East
CLE total 491 244 247 .497 0 0
Total[7] 618 307 311 .497 0 0

Personal life

Garcia's son David was the Yankees first-round pick—the 11th player taken overall—in the secondary phase of the January 1978 draft. He spent two years in the Yankee systems. Garcia also had two grandsons play professional baseball.

2010, the St. Louis Cardinals selected his grandson, Greg Garcia in the seventh round of Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut for the Cardinals in April 2014.[8]

Dave Garcia died in

San Diego, his permanent home since 1961, of natural causes at the age of 97.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Dave Garcia Managerial Record - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  2. ^ admin (May 30, 2018). "David GARCIA Obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Dave Garcia". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Sandomir, Richard (May 24, 2018). "Dave Garcia, M.L.B. Manager and Minor League Mainstay, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  5. .
  6. ^ retrosheet.org
  7. ^ "Dave Garcia Managerial Record". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  8. ^ "Greg Garcia profile". Scout.com. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  9. ^ Noga, Joe (May 22, 2018). "Former Cleveland Indians Manager Dave Garcia Dies at 97". Cleveland.com. Retrieved May 23, 2018.

External links