Dámaso Domingo García Sánchez (7 February 1957 – 15 April 2020) was a Dominican

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

second baseman, best known for his time spent 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 ...

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), in the 1980s. García was originally a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. In 1974, he was the club captain of

Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

. That year, García also played as the captain for the

Dominican Republic national football team The Dominican Republic national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de República Dominicana) represents the Dominican Republic in men's international football, and is governed by the Dominican Football Federation. The team is a member of ...

at the

1974 Central American and Caribbean Games The 12th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from February 27 to March 13, 1974, and included 1,928 athletes from 23 nations competing in 18 sports. Sports * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Referenc ...

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Playing career

García made his major league debut in 1978 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 ...

. He played in 29 games over the following two seasons, before being traded with

Chris Chambliss Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He served as a coach for th ...

and

Paul Mirabella Paul Thomas Mirabella (born March 20, 1954) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Mirabella, who threw left-handed, played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers (1978 and 1982), New York Yankees ...

to the Toronto Blue Jays for

Tom Underwood Thomas Gerald Underwood (December 22, 1953 – November 22, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Pat was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league histo ...

Rick Cerone Richard Aldo Cerone (born May 19, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player, television sports color commentator and minor league baseball team owner. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to with the Cleveland Ind ...

, and

Ted Wilborn Thaddeaus Inglehart Wilborn (born December 16, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played during two seasons at the major league level for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. He was drafted by the Yankees in th ...

, prior to the 1980 season. As Toronto's regular second baseman from 1980 through 1986, García batted over .300 twice (1982 and 1983), with his .310 mark placing him 6th in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL), in 1982. García posted 54

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

in 1982 (2nd in the AL) and 46 in 1984 (6th in the AL), and was an All-Star twice (1984–85). He also won the 1982

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters cons ...

. García batted leadoff during most of his tenure with the Blue Jays but was dropped to the ninth spot in the order at the beginning of the 1986 season, where he struggled to adjust. On 14 May 1986, following a loss to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, García burned his uniform in the hopes of ending the slump. This move angered Toronto manager

Jimy Williams James Francis Williams (born October 4, 1943) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Santa Maria, California, and briefly appeared in two MLB seasons as a seco ...

, who confronted his second baseman in front of the entire team and strained García's relationship with the Blue Jays. He was traded along with Luis Leal to 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 ...

for

Craig McMurtry Joe Craig McMurtry (born November 5, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves (1983–86), Texas Rangers (1988–90) and Houston Astros (1995). He was named the athletic director at Temple College in 201 ...

, just before 1987 spring training. Following the trade, García struggled to find a big league home. He briefly played with the Braves in 1988 and the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1989, but failed to make the cut during the same period with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

. García retired, having compiled a .283 career batting average, 36

home runs 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 i ...

, 323

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI), 490 runs, and 203 stolen bases.

Illness and death

A year after he retired, García started to have

double vision Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...

; he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In 1991, García had the tumor removed and was told that he only had six months to live. The effects of the tumor left García with limited speech and difficulty performing certain functions, such as driving a car. He recovered enough to throw out the first pitch of a Blue Jays playoff game in 1992. García ran a baseball camp in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

for children who have

haemophilia Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising, ...

, a condition that afflicts his oldest son. García died in

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the ...

, on 15 April 2020, at the age of 63 due to cancer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Damaso 1957 births 2020 deaths Albuquerque Dukes players American League All-Stars Association footballers not categorized by position Atlanta Braves players Columbus Clippers players Competitors at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic footballers Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball second basemen Montreal Expos players New York Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players People from Espaillat Province Richmond Braves players Silver Slugger Award winners Tacoma Yankees players Toronto Blue Jays players West Haven Yankees players

Playing career

Illness and death

See also

References

External links