Richard Alan Garcés Mendoza, Jr. ar-CESS(born May 18, 1971) is a former right-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. Nicknamed "El Guapo" (''The handsome one''), he played with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

(1990, 1993),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1995),

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

(1995) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1996–2002). More recently, he's spent time coaching at various programs in the Connecticut area.

Career

Garcés was signed by Minnesota as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1987. After stints with the Twins, Cubs and Marlins, he pitched for the Red Sox, turning into one of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

's premier

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men. He quickly became a favorite among Red Sox fans, as much for his large size as his performance. His weight was listed at 215 lbs, although it is widely believed to have been significantly higher. The Red Sox asked Garcés to lose weight over an off-season, which he did. His numbers were never the same after that, however, leading many to believe the drastic weight loss negatively affected his mechanics. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Garcés posted a 5–1 record with 33

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, a 1.55

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, and two saves. This was followed with a mark of 8–1, 69 SO, 3.25 ERA, and one save in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Although only 31 years old in 2002, Garcés' performance displayed a much-weakened arm strength. After his disappointing ERA of 7.59 in 21

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

, he was released by Boston. On January 22, 2003, he signed with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

as a free agent, but he was released in March 2003 before the regular season started. In a ten-year career, Garcés compiled a 23–10 record with a 3.74 ERA, seven saves, 53 holds, 296 strikeouts, 164 walks, and innings pitched in 287

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, holding opponents to a .227

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. In June 2005, Garcés signed a minor league contract with the Red Sox, pitched in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

for the

Gulf Coast Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior t ...

. He was released in October 2005. Garcés played for the Venezuelan Professional Winter League in 2006, finishing 3–1 with 11 saves and a 2.31 ERA in 24 appearances for the Aguilas del Zulia. Based on this performance, Garcés signed a contract in February 2007 to pitch for the

Nashua Pride The Nashua Pride was a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed t ...

(of the independent

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional baseball league with teams in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States. Founded in 2005 in Dayton, Ohio, the league was for ...

) with the hope of working his way back to the major leagues. He served as a relief pitcher for the Pride in 2007 and 2008. On November 1, 2024, Garcés was elected to the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 78% of the votes from the Contemporary Committee.

Coaching

In recent years, Garcés has spent time coaching in various baseball programs around the Connecticut area. In 2017 he was the pitching coach for the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

. In November 2020 he joined the staff of the CT Edge Baseball Academy. In 2022 he worked as the Pitching Coordinator for the CT Mets, and also worked with Gap2Gap Baseball.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garces, Rich 1971 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Elizabethton Twins players Florida Marlins players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Iowa Cubs players Kenosha Twins players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 20th-century Venezuelan sportsmen Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball coaches Nashua Pride players Nashville Xpress players Navegantes del Magallanes players Orlando Sun Rays players Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Maracay Portland Beavers players Potros de Tijuana players Tigres de Aragua players Visalia Oaks players Venezuelan baseball coaches Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States

Career

Coaching

See also

References

External links