Mitchell Lynn Garver (born January 15, 1991) is an American

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 professiona ...

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 catcher ...

for the Texas Rangers of

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) ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for 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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

Early life

Garver was born on January 15, 1991, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Gail and Jerry Garver. He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, catching for the school baseball team. Garver was also known for his skill as a center back for the school soccer team, and his coach suggested that Garver move to the United Kingdom to further pursue his soccer career at a European academy. Garver, who preferred baseball, was "terrified" at the prospect and turned down the offer. As a junior in 2008, he helped the soccer team win a state championship and took the baseball team to state championship runners-up. When he graduated in 2009, Garver was named the Albuquerque Public Schools' Male Athlete of the Year. He batted .521 as a senior, including 10

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

College career

Garver played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

. While at New Mexico, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

in 2012, and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

He was drafted by the

in the ninth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. He spent his first professional season with the Elizabethton Twins where he batted .243 in 56 games. He spent 2014 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels where he posted a .245 average with 16 home runs and 79 RBI, and 2015 with the Fort Myers Miracle where he batted .329 in 22 games. After the 2015 season he played in the Arizona Fall League. Garver spent 2016 with both the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...

and the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...

, where he posted a combined .270

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 i ...

with 11 home runs and 66 RBI. He played in the Arizona Fall League after the season for the second consecutive year. The Twins added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

Minnesota Twins

2017

In 2017, Garver was promoted from AAA to the MLB to play with the Twins. Garver debuted on August 19, 2017. He got his first major league hit the next day, and played in 23 games that year, batting .196 (9-for-46) with 3 RBI.

2018

In 2018, Garver hit his first home run on April 5, and became the Twins’ primary catcher by May. He hit seven home runs and batted .268.

2019

In the midst of Garver having a career year, on May 14, 2019, he suffered a left high ankle sprain after a collision at home plate with Angels DH Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani was tagged out at home, keeping the

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

4–3 lead. Garver exited the game and was put on the 10-day IL, and teammate Miguel Sano was called up to make his 2019 debut. Garver enjoyed a breakout season despite only playing in 93 games for the Twins. In 311 at bats, he hit 31 home runs while driving in 67. Garver also won the Silver Slugger Award for catchers in the American League.

2020

Due to injury, Garver was limited to 23 games in the shortened 2020 season. He batted .167/.247/.264 during the season.

2021

On July 27, 2021, Garver became a part of major league history when both he and

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

catcher

Eric Haase Eric Michael Haase (; born December 18, 1992) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018 for the Cleveland Indians. Early life Haase was born on December 1 ...

hit grand slam home runs. It was the first time in MLB history that opposing catchers hit grand slams in the same game.

Texas Rangers

On March 12, 2022, Garver was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and

Ronny Henríquez Ronny Henríquez (born June 20, 2000) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Texas Rangers Henríquez signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent on July 3, 2 ...

Player profile

Garver is known for his unique catching stance, in which he keeps one knee on the ground at all times, in a manner similar to that of

Tony Peña Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (; born June 4, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astro ...

. In the early part of his major league career, Garver struggled with pitch framing, particularly in catching low strikes, and he worked with Bill Evers and Tanner Swanson after the 2018 season to find a stance that would improve his catching with lower pitches.

Personal life

Garver met his wife Sarah during their sophomore year of high school. She received her

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

degree from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degree ...

shortly after Garver began playing in MLB. Their first child, a son, was born in July 2021.

References

External links

New Mexico Lobos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garver, Mitch 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Albuquerque, New Mexico Major League Baseball catchers Minnesota Twins players Texas Rangers players New Mexico Lobos baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Elizabethton Twins players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Fort Myers Miracle players Scottsdale Scorpions players Chattanooga Lookouts players Rochester Red Wings players Silver Slugger Award winners Surprise Saguaros players St. Paul Saints players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players St. Cloud River Bats players La Cueva High School alumni