Michael Douglas Garman (born September 16, 1949) is an American former

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 professional ...

player. A

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, he played for five different teams 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) between 1969 and 1978. He was a first-round draft selection of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in the

1967 MLB draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...

. Listed at and , he threw and batted right-handed.

Career

Boston Red Sox

Born and raised in Caldwell, Idaho, Garman was the third overall selection in the

1967 MLB Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...

, chosen by the

. His brother, Stephen, spent two seasons in the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization. Garman signed with the Red Sox upon graduation at age 17 from Caldwell High School, and was assigned to the Greenville Red Sox of the

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

. He lost the only game he appeared in for Greenville, giving up three hits and two walks in the only inning he pitched. He was then reassigned to the

Winston-Salem Red Sox Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

, where he went 1–3 with a 6.75

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. After three seasons in Boston's farm system, Garman debuted with the BoSox as a September call-up in , and won his major league debut against the

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

just six days after his twentieth birthday. After spending all of in the minors, he joined the Sox as a September call-up in and as well, and made the big league roster out of the bullpen in . He had no decisions in twelve appearances as manager

Eddie Kasko Edward Michael Kasko (June 27, 1931 – June 24, 2020) was an American infielder, manager, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). Kasko was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and raised in nearby Linden. He graduated ...

used him mostly in mop up roles.

St. Louis Cardinals

Following his only full season with the BoSox, he was traded with John Curtis and Lynn McGlothen to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

for

Reggie Cleveland Reginald Leslie Cleveland (born May 23, 1948) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Cleveland appeared in 428 games in Major League Baseball over 13 seasons (1969–81) for four teams. Born in Swift Current, S ...

, Terry Hughes and Diego Segui. It was with the Cardinals where Garman enjoyed his best seasons. He was 7–2 with a 2.64 ERA and six saves in . Though his record dipped to 3–8 in , his ERA did as well, to 2.39. He also collected ten saves. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs with a player to be named later for

Don Kessinger Donald Eulon Kessinger (born July 17, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to , most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs where, he was a six-time Al ...

. In his only season in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Garman made two emergency starts in the second games of double headers, losing both.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 11, , the Cubs sent Garman and

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

to 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 ...

for

Bill Buckner William Joseph Buckner (December 14, 1949 – May 27, 2019) was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams from through , most notably the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red ...

, Ivan De Jesus and Jeff Albert. While with the Dodgers, he reached the post season for the only time in his career, appearing in two games of the 1977 National League Championship Series and two games in the

1977 World Series The 1977 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1977 season. The 74th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the Natio ...

without giving up an earned run. Garman was later traded in May 1978 to 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 ...

for Gerry Hannahs and Larry Landreth. After one season with the Expos, he failed to make the team in 1979 spring training after which he signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and also spent part of that season with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

' triple A affiliate before retiring.

References

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garman, Mike 1949 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Idaho Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Greenville Red Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players People from Caldwell, Idaho Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players Tacoma Tugs players Winston-Salem Red Sox players