Robert Cole Garner (born December 15, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. He played in

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) for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in 2011.

Career

Garner was selected by the

in the 26th round (767th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut in 2005 after injuries prevented him from doing so in 2003 or 2004. In 66 games with the Advanced Rookie

Casper Rockies Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * Dav ...

he hit .260 with 10 HR and 48 RBI. Garner had an outstanding 2006 with Single-A

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, where in 120 games, he hit .302 with 19 HR, 88 RBI and 35 SB. Garner played 2007 as a switch-hitter with A-Advanced

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, where in 96 games, he hit .213 with 8 HR and 33 RBI. In 2007, Garner was considered to be one of the top outfielder prospects in the Rockies organization. Garner returned to hitting exclusively right-handed for 2008. His season ended in late July due to another injury. In 50 games, he hit .318 with 2 HR and 17 RBI. Garner played 2009 with Double-A

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

, where in 112 games, he hit .288 with 16 HR, 64 RBI and 13 SB. Garner played 2010 with Triple-A

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, where in 111 games, he hit .304 with 13 HR and 61 RBI. Following the 2010 season, he was added to the Rockies' 40 man roster. Garner spent most of the 2011 season with Colorado Springs, but had 2 stints with the Rockies. Garner made his MLB debut on July 4, 2011, pinch hitting in the 8th inning against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

Jonny Venters Jonathan William Venters (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals. Career Minor leagues Venters was ...

and flying out to right field. The following day he was optioned back to Colorado Springs to make room for Ian Stewart, his teammate at La Quinta High School, to be recalled. He got his first hit in his second stint, a go-ahead RBI single off of

Ryan Mattheus Ryan Arthur Mattheus (born November 10, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Cincinnati Reds. He is a sinkerballer. ...

of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. On December 12, 2011, Garner was non-tendered and became a free agent. He signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

on January 4, 2012, receiving an invitation to spring training. Garner spent the year with the Triple-A

Empire State Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

, where in 64 games, he hit .258 with 6 HR and 25 RBI. On January 4, 2013, Garner signed a minor league deal with the

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

, and was invited to their Minor League mini-camp. Before the season, Garner was assigned to Triple-A

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, but was released by the Brewers on July 26. In 71 games with the Sounds, he hit .192 with 8 HR and 29 RBI. Garner signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on May 26, 2015, and elected free agency on November 6. On July 28, 2016, Garner signed with the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He became a free agent after the 2016 season. On March 24, 2017, Garner signed with the of

Baseball Challenge League The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...

. On July 7, 2017, he left the team. On July 14, 2017, Garner was traded from the

to the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

Personal

His grandparents from

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

References

External links

MiLB.com player profile
* ttp://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_12074214 Garner's got the power to be the next Holliday ''Rocky Mountain News'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Cole 1984 births Living people American baseball players of Japanese descent American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Asheville Tourists players Broncos de Reynosa players Casper Rockies players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Lancaster Barnstormers players Modesto Nuts players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders New Britain Bees players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Nashville Sounds players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tulsa Drillers players Waikiki Beach Boys players