Garth Cale Iorg (born September 6, 1985) is an American former professional baseball player. He is the son of former

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) player

Garth Iorg Garth Ray Iorg ( ; born October 12, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played his entire career (1978, 1980–1987) for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also worked as the first base coach for ...

and nephew of former MLB player

Dane Iorg Dane Charles Iorg ( ; born May 11, 1950) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from (–) for four teams, including eight seasons spent with the St. Louis Cardinals. Whi ...

. Iorg played college baseball for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a mem ...

. After his freshman season at Alabama, Iorg put his baseball career on hold to go on a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, Portugal.Top 10 Prospects: Detroit Tigers

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

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

shortly before he returned from the mission. Iorg was ranked as the third best prospect in the Tigers organization by

following the 2008 season.

High school and college

Iorg was a four-year starter at

Karns High School Karns High School is a public high school in the Karns community of Knox County, Tennessee administered by the Knox County Schools public school district. A growing population in western Knox County established in 1913; prior to this time, stud ...

near

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. 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

in the sixth round (211th overall) of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

. 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 The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home ga ...

and

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

in 2007. The Tigers sent him to play

Hawaii Winter Baseball Hawaii Winter Baseball (HWB), based in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a professional baseball league in the Hawaiian islands. It was loosely affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). History The HWB league first began play in 1993. Funded by Major Lea ...

for the

North Shore Honu The North Shore Honu were a minor league baseball team in the Hawaii Winter Baseball league. They were based in Waipahu, Hawaii. The name ''honu'' is the Hawaiian word for sea turtle. They played their home games at the Hans L'Orange Field. Nota ...

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

' Double-A affiliate

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

, and 88 games with the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. In 2012, he played 7 games with the Class-A

, 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 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, 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 The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

. 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