Gustavo Karim García Aguayo (born October 29, 1975) is a Mexican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. García bats and throws left-handed.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, García signed as an amateur free agent with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in 1992 at just sixteen years old. After batting .319 with twenty home runs and 91

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

for the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank ...

in 1995, he became the youngest player in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

when he debuted with the Dodgers that September. He also received major league calls in 1996 and 1997, but spent most of tenure with the Dodgers as a minor leaguer. In five seasons in their farm system, he compiled a .281

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 ...

, 98 home runs, and 375 RBIs. His first career home run came off of Osvaldo Fernández at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

in 1997.

Arizona Diamondbacks inaugural season

On November 18, 1997, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

selected García as the ninth overall pick in the 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft. He earned a spot on the D-Backs' inaugural season opening day line-up as the starting right-fielder. Garcia hit the second home run in franchise history in the ninth inning of their 9-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies.

Detroit Tigers

Following just one season in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, García was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Luis Gonzalez and cash consideration. On May 28, 1999, Garcia became the 34th player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a home run over the Tiger Stadium roof in right field, however, he lasted just one full season in Detroit. In June 2000, he was sent to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

as part of a conditional deal, but was released by Baltimore after one season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Cleveland Indians

Garcia signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for the 2001 season, and clubbed 31 home runs for the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

. He joined the Indians that September, and batted .311 with five home runs in just 45 at-bats. The Indians released García during Spring training 2002. He joined the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

shortly afterwards only to be released by the Yankees that July and rejoin the Indians. In 51 games for the Tribe, García managed to put up his most impressive stats to date: sixteen home runs, 52 RBIs and a .299 batting average. García's 2002 performance earned him a job as Cleveland's 2003 opening day

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

, however, a .194 batting average and sloppy play in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

caused him to lose his starting job to Jody Gerut by the beginning of May. Shortly afterwards, his contract was purchased by the Yankees.

New York Yankees

García's numbers improved dramatically upon joining the Yankees, as he batted .305 in 52 games. He also displayed a far steadier glove, committing just two errors. He is likely best remembered for two incidents in the

2003 American League Championship Series The 2003 American League Championship Series (ALCS) was played between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees from October 8 to 16, 2003. The Yankees won the series four games to three to advance to the World Series, where they lost in six g ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

against the rival

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Following a

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

that gave the Yankees a 4-2 lead in game three, García was plunked with a

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . At the time o ...

pitch thrown behind his head. A verbal altercation with Martínez caused benches to empty, and interrupted play. Shortly afterwards, Martínez famously told

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American sportswriter, media personality, and musician. He is a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early ...

during an interview on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

: Later in the same game, García jumped into the bullpen to assist Yankees teammate Jeff Nelson in a fight with a

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

. Martinez later referenced his famous quote during the Fenway Park centennial ceremonies, speaking on the microphone to fans before a game against the Yankees in 2012.

New York Mets

In 2004, García moved cross-town to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. His brief tenure with the Mets included him and teammate Shane Spencer involved in a physical altercation with a pizza deliveryman in a parking lot, but no charges were filed. In July, the Mets traded him to the

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Mike DeJean. The Orioles released him in August 2004 with a .212 batting average.

After Major League Baseball

García spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Orix Buffaloes of the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

League, batting a combined .281 with 44 homers and 97 RBIs. Thanks to the advice of

, he became more patient than before, adapting to his new environment in Japan. On August 10-August 11, 2005, García hit three home runs in two consecutive games against the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

, becoming the only player in Japanese baseball history to accomplish that. On January 8, 2007, García signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, he was released during Spring Training. He ended up joining the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the 2007 season, and batted .374 with 20 home runs to lead his team to a national championship. García signed with the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pr ...

of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the 2008 season. He played right field, batted fifth, and was one of the crowd favorites in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

, posting a .283 batting average with 30 home runs and led the league with 111 RBIs in 125 games played. After the season, García won the

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established ...

as an outfielder. García stayed with the Giants through the 2010 season, hitting at least 26 home runs each season he was with team. In 2011, he returned to the Sultanes de Monterrey in Mexico for a second season with the team. In June 2011, García came back again in South Korea to sign

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

of the KBO. He played for the Eagles until the end of the season. In 2012, he played for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

Mexican Summer League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

and the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo ( en, Hermosillo Orange Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Naranjeros are one of the most successful teams in the league with 16 titles and they we ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...

. In a ten-season major league career, García posted a .241 batting average with 66 home runs and 212 RBIs in 488 games played.

International career

García represented his native country,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, as an outfielder on the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 4th-ranked baseball team in the world. Roster Results and fixtures ...

for the 2006, 2009, and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Lea ...

tournaments.

References

External links

*
2005 feat
The Baseball Guru
Who are you Karim Garcia?
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Karim 1975 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baseball players from Sonora Baltimore Orioles players Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Detroit Tigers players Hanwha Eagles players Los Angeles Dodgers players Lotte Giants players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican expatriate baseball players in South Korea Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball outfielders Naranjeros de Hermosillo players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Kiwoom Heroes players Orix Buffaloes players Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in baseball People from Ciudad Obregón Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Sultanes de Monterrey players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Sidewinders players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tomateros de Culiacán players Yaquis de Obregón players Vero Beach Dodgers players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games