| Dave Garcia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manager | |
| Born:(1920-09-15)September 15, 1920 East St. Louis, Illinois, U.S. | |
| Died: May 21, 2018(2018-05-21) (aged 97) San Diego, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games | 618 |
| Win–loss record | 307–311[1] |
| Winning % | .497 |
| Teams | |
| As manager As coach | |
David Garcia (September 15, 1920 – May 21, 2018)[2] was an Americancoach,scout andmanager inMajor League Baseball who spent over 65 years inprofessional baseball. He served as manager of theCalifornia Angels (1977–78) andCleveland Indians (1979–82). Including three games as acting manager of the 1975 Indians, during his first coaching tenure there, he compiled a career record of 310 wins and 311 defeats (.499).[3]
Garcia was born inEast St. Louis, Illinois, toSpanish immigrant parents[4] and entered the game in 1939. Derailed by injury as a player,[4] Garcia was aminor leagueinfielder for almost 20 seasons — much of that time in thefarm system of theNew York Giants — and never made it to the major leagues. His playing career also was interrupted by three years (1943–45) of service in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II,[5] and much of his later active career was spent as aplayer-manager in the lowminor leagues. As the playing skipper of the 1951Oshkosh Giants of the Class DWisconsin State League, Garcia won the league'striple crown, with 23home runs, 127runs batted in and abatting average of .369. He threw and battedright-handed was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
He began managing at age 27 in1948 with the Giants'Knoxville Smokiesfarm team of the Class BTri-State League, and would continue to manage in theNew York and San Francisco Giants'minor league organization over the next two decades (1949–55; 1957; 1964; 1967–68). He also coached forTriple-AMinneapolis (1956) and scouted for the Giants (1957–63; 1965–66). Garcia then joined theSan Diego Padres as a minor league manager in1969, their maidenNational League season.
The following season, in his 50th year, Garcia finally reached the majors as San Diego's third-base coach. He coached with the Padres (1970–73), Indians (1975–76; 1979) and Angels (1977) and in1977 he was named manager of the Angels whenNorm Sherry was fired on July 11. While the Angels continued to stumble under him in 1977 (with a 35–46 record), the Halos stood at 25–20 when Garcia was released in favor ofJim Fregosi on June 1, 1978.
Garcia got another chance to manage with the Cleveland Indians whenJeff Torborg was fired on July 23,1979. Cleveland played at a 38–28 clip under Garcia for the remainder of the season, and compiled a mark of 52–51 during the strike-shortened1981 campaign, but they never finished higher than fifth in theAmerican League East. After a sixth-place finish in1982, Garcia was fired. But he remained in the game into his mid 80s, as a coach for theMilwaukee Brewers (1983–84), a special assignment scout for the Brewers andKansas City Royals, and — from2000–02 — a coach with theColorado Rockies. Garcia was named to the Rockies' staff when he was 79 years of age by then-skipperBuddy Bell.[6] He also scouted for other MLB teams, including theSeattle Mariners andChicago Cubs.
As a minor league manager in the Giants, Padres and Angels organizations, Garcia won 889 games and lost 796 (.528) and won three championships. He is one of only four individuals to play, coach or announce professional baseball during part of eight decades. (Vin Scully,Tommy Lasorda andDon Zimmer being the other three.)
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CAL | 1977 | 81 | 35 | 46 | .432 | Interim | – | – | – | |
| CAL | 1978 | 46 | 25 | 21 | .543 | Fired | – | – | – | |
| CAL total | 127 | 60 | 67 | .472 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| CLE | 1979 | 66 | 38 | 28 | .576 | Interim | – | – | – | |
| CLE | 1980 | 160 | 79 | 81 | .494 | 6th in the AL East | – | – | – | |
| CLE | 1981 | 50 | 26 | 24 | .520 | 6th in the AL East | – | – | – | |
| 53 | 26 | 27 | .491 | 5th in the AL East | ||||||
| CLE | 1982 | 162 | 78 | 84 | .481 | 7th in the AL East | – | – | – | |
| CLE total | 491 | 244 | 247 | .497 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| Total[7] | 618 | 307 | 311 | .497 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Garcia's son David was the Yankees first-round pick—the 11th player taken overall—in the secondary phase of the January 1978 draft. He spent two years in the Yankee systems. Garcia also had two grandsons play professional baseball.Drew Garcia was a 21st round draft choice of the Chicago White Sox in 2008, and reached the Triple-A level. In2010, theSt. Louis Cardinals selected his grandson,Greg Garcia in the seventh round ofMajor League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut for the Cardinals in April2014.[8]
Dave Garcia died inSan Diego, his permanent home since 1961, of natural causes at the age of 97.[9]
