Michael Garciaparra (born April 2, 1983 in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Los Angeles County, California, and is part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census figure. Whittier ...

) is an American former professional baseball middle

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He is the brother of former

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, Third ...

Career

Garciaparra was drafted by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in the supplemental first round (36th overall) of the

2001 Major League Baseball draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

with the pick awarded to the Mariners after the

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 ...

departure of

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

. He signed with the Mariners with a $2 million signing bonus, forgoing a baseball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

offer from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. Garciaparra was highly touted as a prospect, and in 2001

Upper Deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK) is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. It was founded in 1988. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United ...

put his image on the packaging for one of its brands, Prospect Premieres. He played in Seattle's minor league system in five seasons, topping out with the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

in , where he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

.316 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in 42 games. He primarily played

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

in 2005 and 2006, as the Mariners gave the starting shortstop job to

Yuniesky Betancourt Yuniesky Betancourt Pérez (born 31 January 1982) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. Betancourt played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals. He played in the Cuban Na ...

. Garciaparra was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Mariners on April 2, 2007, as the team needed roster space for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Jamie Burke James Eugene Burke (born September 24, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He attended Oregon State University, where, along with baseball, he played for the school's football team as the kicker. Professional career Minor Leagu ...

and

pitchers 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 draw ...

Arthur Rhodes Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former professional baseball left-handed relief pitcher and current pitching coach for the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played 20 seas ...

and

Brandon Morrow Brandon John Morrow (born July 26, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Amate ...

. The

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

claimed Garciaparra on April 12. He played most of season with the Double-A

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

, also suiting up for four games for the Triple-A

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

and three games for the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

. He hit poorly, with a .234 batting average and .643

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

in his season in the Phillies organization, primarily playing shortstop. In 2008, Garciaparra signed with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and played for the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Milw ...

. His third year in Double-A was his best, as he his .340. He also played every defensive position except catcher and

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the cen ...

. In 2009, he began the season with the Brewer's Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. After 22 games with a lower .271 batting average and little power, Garciaparra was sent back to Huntsville on June 27, where he hit an even worse .206. On March 16, 2010, Garciaparra signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. He started the season with five games with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, then was assigned to the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

on April 24. He returned to Round Rock on May 17. In his final

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, he

struck out 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 safel ...

against the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

on July 23. The Astros released Garciaparra on July 27.

Post career

After his playing career, Garciaparra was a

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

area scout for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and an instructor for

USA Baseball The United States Baseball Federation, doing business as USA Baseball, is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that acts as the national Sports governing body, governing body for baseball in the United States. USA Baseball ...

. He and his father Ramon Garciaparra operate Garciaparra Baseball Group.

Personal

Garciaparra lives in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

. He graduated from

Don Bosco Technical Institute Don Bosco Technical Institute (commonly called "Bosco Tech" or "The Tech") is an all-boys (grades 9-12), private school, private, Catholic high school in Rosemead, California, combining college-preparatory academic courses and technological educ ...

in June 2001. While there, he was named First Team All-Camino Real League in baseball for three years, handled kicking duties for the school's football team, and played varsity

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. He missed most of the 2001 high school baseball season while recovering from surgery to repair a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

sustained in a football game.

References

External links

* Career statistics and player information fro
MiLB
* Career statistics and player information fro
CBS Sportline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garciaparra, Michael 1983 births Living people American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Mariners players Baseball second basemen Clearwater Threshers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Everett AquaSox players Huntsville Stars players Inland Empire 66ers players Nashville Sounds players Ottawa Lynx players Peoria Javelinas players Reading Phillies players Round Rock Express players San Antonio Missions players Sportspeople from Redondo Beach, California Baseball players from Whittier, California St. Louis Cardinals scouts Tacoma Rainiers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players