Garth Cale Iorg (born September 6, 1985) is a Canadian-born American former professional baseball player. He is the son of former
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 ...
(MLB) player
Garth Iorg and nephew of former MLB player
Dane Iorg. Iorg played college baseball for the
Alabama Crimson Tide.
After his freshman season at Alabama, Iorg put his baseball career on hold to go on a
Mormon mission to
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal.
[Top 10 Prospects: Detroit Tigers](_blank)
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...
. November 20, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2016. He was drafted by the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
shortly before he returned from the mission. Iorg was ranked as the third best prospect in the Tigers organization by
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...
following the 2008 season.
High school and college
Iorg was a four-year starter at
Karns High School near
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. As a junior, he batted .489 with 20 RBI and 19 stolen bases. In his senior season, he batted .495 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI, while compiling a .698 on-base percentage and a 1.131 slugging mark. He also scored 52 runs and stole 34 of 36 bases.
In his freshman and only season at Alabama, Iorg batted .280 with an on-base percentage of .331 and slugging percentage of .415 as the Crimson Tide's starting shortstop.
Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
After his freshman season at Alabama, Iorg served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Lisbon, Portugal. He told ''The Birmingham News'' that leaving Alabama had nothing to do with baseball. It was a matter of faith. While in Portugal, Iorg had little time for baseball. He had time to work out for about 30 minutes per day during the mission and once a week he had additional free time in which he often played soccer.
While on the mission, Iorg was drafted by the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
in the sixth round (211th overall) of the
2007 Major League Baseball draft. He returned from Portugal on July 14, 2007.
Minor leagues
Iorg began his professional career playing a total of eight games for the
Gulf Coast Tigers and
Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2007. The Tigers sent him to play
Hawaii Winter Baseball for the
North Shore Honu to work on his hitting. His winter season was cut short when he injured his hamstring in mid-October.
In 2011, Iorg played 26 games with the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
' Double-A affiliate
Erie SeaWolves, and 88 games with the Triple-A
Toledo Mud Hens. In 2012, he played 7 games with the Class-A
Lakeland Flying Tigers, and 47 games with the Mud Hens.
At the end of the 2013 spring training season, the Tigers attempted to trade Iorg to the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...
, and when that fell through the Tigers released him. The Orioles signed him to a minor league contract on April 9, and assigned him to the Double-A
Bowie Baysox.
On June 6, 2013, he announced his retirement from baseball.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iorg, Cale
1985 births
Living people
21st-century Mormon missionaries
Alabama Crimson Tide baseball players
Baseball players from Knoxville, Tennessee
Baseball players from Toronto
Baseball shortstops
Bowie Baysox players
Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States
Canadian Mormon missionaries
Canadian people of American descent
Erie SeaWolves players
Gulf Coast Tigers players
Lakeland Flying Tigers players
Latter Day Saints from Tennessee
American Mormon missionaries in Portugal
Toledo Mud Hens players
World Baseball Classic players of Canada
2013 World Baseball Classic players
North Shore Honu players