Matt Garza

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Matt Garza
Garza with the Milwaukee Brewers
Pitcher
Born: (1983-11-26) November 26, 1983 (age 40)
Selma, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 11, 2006, for the Minnesota Twins
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 2017, for the Milwaukee Brewers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record93–106
Earned run average4.09
Strikeouts1,380
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Matthew Scott Garza (born November 26, 1983) is an American former

American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player in 2008, and threw a no-hitter
on July 26, 2010.

Amateur career

Born in

strikeouts per nine innings pitched.[2]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Garza was the 25th pick in the first round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft, drafted by the Minnesota Twins.[3]

Garza pitching for the Minnesota Twins in 2006.

Entering 2006, Garza was ranked as the

win on August 23 against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing just one unearned run in six innings.[8]

Entering 2007, Garza was rated as the top prospect in the Twins organization

Cleveland Indians
.

Tampa Bay Rays

After the 2007 season, the Twins traded Garza along with Jason Bartlett and Eduardo Morlan to the Tampa Bay Rays for Delmon Young, Jason Pridie, and Brendan Harris. Garza had a successful 2008 season with the Rays, going 11–9 while posting a 3.70 ERA. He also earned MVP honors for the ALCS in which he helped the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox by posting a 1.38 ERA in two starts, and earning the decisive victory in game 7 of the ALCS.

On June 26, 2008, he carried a

Florida Marlins before giving up a leadoff home run in the seventh inning to Hanley Ramírez
. The home run proved his only blemish as he won the complete game with 10 strikeouts and one walk.

As of the end of July 2009, opposing batters were hitting .222 against him, which was the second-lowest batting average in the league; he was just behind Edwin Jackson (.216), and was followed by Jarrod Washburn (.224) and Scott Feldman (.228; .217 as a starter).[13]

In 2009, he had the lowest range factor of all starting major league pitchers (0.93).[14]

Garza during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010 spring training.

Garza threw a

fastballs.[18]

Chicago Cubs

On January 7, 2011, Garza was traded from the Rays to the

Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, and Robinson Chirinos to the Rays for Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and minor league left-handed pitcher Zac Rosscup.[19][20] In spring training, Garza led all pitchers in the major leagues in earned runs given up, with 25, in 21.2 innings.[21] Garza finished the season with a 10–10 record and a 3.32 ERA.[22]

Texas Rangers

The Cubs traded Garza to the

Neil Ramirez.[23]
With the Rangers, Garza had an ERA of 4.38.

Milwaukee Brewers

After the 2013 season, the Milwaukee Brewers reportedly agreed to sign Garza to what was initially reported as a four-year, $52 million contract. On January 26, 2014, the Brewers announced that the signing was official. The deal is reportedly guaranteed for $50 million over the course of four years, with each season having an additional $1 million in performance bonuses. There is also a performance/appearance based vesting option for a fifth year, worth $13 million, making the total contract worth as much as 5 years and $67 million.[24] With the contract, Garza became the most expensive free agent that the Brewers have ever signed, surpassing Jeff Suppan's four year, $42 million contract signed prior to the 2007 season.[citation needed]

During the 2015 season, it was announced that Garza would be shut down for the rest of the season due to poor performance and the club wanting to look at younger starters. Garza reacted badly to the idea and did not pitch in any of the team's final 28 games.

Jesus Aguilar. He attempted to pitch the rest of the season through it, but struggled badly down the stretch and lost his spot in the rotation, finishing the final year of his contract with a 6–9 record and a 4.94 ERA. After the season, Garza's injury was diagnosed as a torn labrum in the right shoulder. On January 10, 2018, Garza, now a free agent, underwent surgery to repair the labrum, performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and was ruled out for the entire 2018 season.[27]

Scouting

Garza throws a 2-seam

slider in the mid 80s, and an occasional changeup he uses to fool hitters, especially lefties. His slider is considered his best strikeout pitch, and he is capable of throwing it for strikes late in the count to keep batters off balance.[28]

When played for the Rays, pitching coach Jim Hickey commented that Garza had "the best stuff on the staff".[29]

Personal life

Garza is married to his high school sweetheart; together they have six children. Garza is of Mexican descent.

As someone who has had to deal with

teen pregnancy (Garza was 18 when his first child was born), he was invited to sit on a panel for The Candie's Foundation in New York City about combating teen pregnancy on May 6, 2009.[30]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Santana and 'Big Papi' Lead Latino Baseballers - NAM". News.newamericamedia.org. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  2. ^ "Player Profile: Matt Garza - Baseball Prospectus". October 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Horn, Barry (July 28, 2013). "Horn: For Rangers' Matt Garza, immense talent – and fiery demeanor – were evident from the start". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "Top 10 Prospects: Minnesota Twins". Baseball America. February 1, 2006.
  5. ^ "Alexi Casilla and Matt Garza named 2006 Twins' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year". MLB.com. November 1, 2006.
  6. ^ "Notes: Early start for Garza". MLB.com. August 8, 2006.
  7. ^ "Garza hit hard in debut vs. Jays". MLB.com. August 12, 2006.
  8. ^ "Garza notches first MLB win". MLB.com. August 23, 2006.
  9. ^ "Top 10 Prospects: Minnesota Twins". Baseball America. November 30, 2006.
  10. ^ "2007 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. February 28, 2007.
  11. ^ "Twins call up Garza from Triple-A". MLB.com. June 28, 2007.
  12. ^ "Futures' stars set to align today". MLB.com. July 7, 2007.
  13. ^ T.R. Sullivan. "Feldman: The rock of the rotation, 7/29/09". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  14. ^ "MLB Player Fielding Stats – As p – 2009". Espn. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  15. ^ Garza takes place in history, no-hits Tigers
  16. ^ On July 7th, 2021, 5 Rays pitchers threw a combined no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians. It was the second game of doubleheader with 2020-21 MLB pandemic player safety rule shortening doubleheaders to seven innings each game. Due to this, Garza's no-hitter remains the only official one in Rays history.
  17. ^ Game Box Score MLB.com July 26, 2010
  18. ^ "Garza's fastball will hold the key to his post-no-hitter development". CNN. July 27, 2010.
  19. ^ "Source: Cubs agree to Garza deal". espn.go.com. January 8, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  20. ^ "Cubs acquire right-hander Matt Garza in eight-player trade with Rays". mlb.com. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  21. ^ "Major League Baseball Stats: Sortable Statistics | MLB.com: Stats". Mlb.mlb.com. March 29, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2011.
  22. ^ AL WILD CARD TIEBREAKER Mon, Sep 30. "Matt Garza Stats, News, Pictures, Bio, Videos - Texas Rangers - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved January 23, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza traded to Texas Rangers". Chicago Tribune. July 22, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  24. ^ "Matt Garza signs with Brewers". ESPN.com. January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  25. ^ "Brewers shut down Matt Garza, and he's not happy". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. September 5, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  26. ^ "Carl Edwards Register Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  27. ^ "Free agent Garza undergoes shoulder surgery". MLB.com.
  28. ^ "Mechanical Analysis: Matt Garza | SaberScouting". Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  29. ^ "Maturing Garza may be Rays' real ace – John Donovan - SI.com". CNN. October 25, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  30. ^ "Garza spends his day in New York sitting between Hayden Panettiere & Bristol Palin". wtsp.com. May 6, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Garza.
Achievements
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
July 26, 2010 		Succeeded by
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