Mark Allan Gardner (born March 1, 1962) is a former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

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 (A ...

. He pitched for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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 club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

and also coached for the Giants.

Playing career

Gardner pitched in the Major Leagues from to for the

, and the Giants. In his career, Gardner pitched in 345 games, posting a record of 99–93 and a 4.56 ERA. He appeared in 275 of his 345 career games as a starter. Gardner was also used as a long reliever and spot starter during the final years of his career. On July 26, 1991, Gardner no hit the Dodgers for nine innings but gave up two hits to start the bottom of the 10th (

Jeff Fassero Jeffrey Joseph Fassero (born January 5, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Professional career Montreal Expos Fassero was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 22nd round of the amateur draft, but he bounced around in the min ...

gave up the game-winning hit to

Darryl Strawberry Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and author who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Throughout his career, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in th ...

, the very next batter, but Gardner took the loss) and lost 1–0. Two nights later, his teammate

Dennis Martinez Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Greek god of ecstatic states, particularly those produced by wine, which is sometime ...

threw a perfect game against the Dodgers. On September 3, 1995, Gardner notched his only save in the major leagues. He pitched the bottom of the 11th for the Marlins to nail down an 8-7 victory over the Astros. Gardner played the last six seasons of his career with the Giants. He shared the 2001 Willie Mac Award with Benito Santiago, which recognized each of their spirit and leadership.

Coaching career

One season after retiring, Gardner became the Giants'

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in . He remained in the position until 2017 and was a member of three World Series championship teams.

Personal

Gardner attended Clovis High School in

Clovis, California Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. The 2020 population was 120,124. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet (110 m). History The city of Clovis began as a freight stop along the ...

and

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

, where he met his wife, Lori Gardner, an All-American softball pitcher. He and Lori have 2 sons. Lori Gardner struggled with liver cancer for several years during her husband's tenure with the Giants before dying from the disease in 2003. The Gardner family remains active in the

Donate Life America A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as bl ...

organization.

References

External links

sfgiants.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Mark 1962 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from Los Angeles Brevard County Manatees players Edmonton Trappers players Florida Marlins players Fresno City Rams baseball players Fresno Grizzlies players Fresno State Bulldogs baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Jamestown Expos players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Omaha Royals players San Francisco Giants coaches San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players West Palm Beach Expos players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players