Percival Garner III (born December 13, 1988) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who 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

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 F ...

in 2016.

College career

Perci was a three-sport athlete while attending Dover High School in

Dover, Ohio Dover is a city in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 13,112 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately south of Cleveland, west of Pittsburgh, and northeast of the state capital of Col ...

, where he played basketball, football, and baseball. He enrolled at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State, State or BSU) is a public university, public research university in Muncie, Indiana. It has two satellite facilities in Fishers, Indiana, Fishers and Indianapolis. On July 25, 1917, the Ball brothers, indust ...

to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

, but only saw two snaps at quarterback in his redshirt freshman season. At the urging of football coach

Stan Parrish Stanley Paul Parrish (September 20, 1946 – April 3, 2022) was an American football coach and player. He was the head coach at Ball State University from 2009 to 2010. Parrish was previously the head coach at Wabash College, Kansas State and M ...

, Perci tried out for the

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

team. Garner played two seasons for Ball State. As a redshirt freshman, Perci had a 4.95 ERA across 20 innings in 17 games. The following year, Perci led the team in strikeouts (83) while compiling a 4.62 ERA and a 5-3 record as a starter, earning him First Team All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

honors.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Garner was drafted by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in the second round of the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. He spent 2010 and 2011 with the

Williamsport Crosscutters The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a ...

, and played sparingly. In 2012, Garner was promoted to the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

, where he had a 7-9 record and a 4.84 ERA in 26 starts. He followed that up with a 6-6 record and a 4.30 ERA in 22 starts for Clearwater, while also having shorts stints with the

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

and the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. He then split time between Clearwater and Reading in 2014 before being released.

Cleveland Indians

Prior to the 2015 season he signed a minor league contract with the

, who converted him from a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

to 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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. During the 2015 season, Perci pitched solely for the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

posting a record of 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 18 appearances. In 2016, Perci compiled a combined 7-1 record and 1.83 ERA in a total of 41 appearances with the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

and the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

before making his major league debut in August. Garner was called up to the major leagues by Cleveland for the first time on August 31, 2016, and made his debut that same day. During his time with the Indians in 2016, he appeared in 8 games compiling a record of 0-0 and a 4.82 ERA. The Indians designated Garner for assignment on July 31, 2017, in order to make room on their 40-man roster for Joe Smith. The Indians re-signed Garner to a minor league contract on August 10, 2017.

Baltimore Orioles

He elected free agency on November 6, 2017, and signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

on November 30. He was released on June 6, 2018.

References

External links

Ball State Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Perci 1988 births Living people People from Dover, Ohio Baseball players from Ohio Major League Baseball pitchers American football quarterbacks Cleveland Indians players Ball State Cardinals baseball players Ball State Cardinals football players Williamsport Crosscutters players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Fightin Phils players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Lynchburg Hillcats players Scottsdale Scorpions players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players