Gustavo Karim García Aguayo (born October 29, 1975) is a Mexican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. García bats and throws left-handed.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, García signed as an amateur free agent 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in 1992 at just sixteen years old. After batting .319 with twenty

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 ...

and 91

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

for the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fran ...

in 1995, he became the youngest player in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

when he debuted with the Dodgers that September. He also received major league calls in 1996 and 1997, but spent most of tenure with the Dodgers as a minor leaguer. In five seasons in their farm system, he compiled a .281

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 98 home runs, and 375 RBIs. His first career home run came off of Osvaldo Fernández at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium located in the Bayview-Hunters Point, Hunters Point area of San Francisco, California, United States. It was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 S ...

in 1997.

Arizona Diamondbacks inaugural season

On November 18, 1997, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

selected García as the ninth overall pick in the 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft. He earned a spot on the D-Backs' inaugural season opening day line-up as the starting right-fielder. Garcia hit the second home run in franchise history in the ninth inning of their 9–2 loss to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Detroit Tigers

Following just one season in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, García was traded to 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in exchange for Luis Gonzalez and cash consideration. On May 28, 1999, Garcia became the 34th player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit a home run over the Tiger Stadium roof in right field, however, he lasted just one full season in Detroit. In June 2000, he was sent to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

as part of a conditional deal, but was released by Baltimore after one season with the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

Cleveland Indians

Garcia signed 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

for the 2001 season, and clubbed 31 home runs for the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He joined the Indians that September, and batted .311 with five home runs in just 45

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

. The Indians released García during

Spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

2002. He joined 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) Am ...

shortly afterwards only to be released by the Yankees that July and rejoin the Indians. In 51 games for the Tribe, García managed to put up his most impressive stats to date: sixteen home runs, 52 RBIs and a .299 batting average. García's 2002 performance earned him a job as Cleveland's 2003 opening day

, however, a .194 batting average and sloppy play in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

caused him to lose his starting job to Jody Gerut by the beginning of May. Shortly afterwards, his contract was purchased by the Yankees.

New York Yankees

García's numbers improved dramatically upon joining the Yankees, as he batted .305 in 52 games. He also displayed a far steadier glove, committing just two errors. He is likely best remembered for two incidents in the 2003 American League Championship Series at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

against the rival

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Following a

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nipp ...

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

that gave the Yankees a 4–2 lead in game three, García was plunked with a

Pedro Martínez Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , for five teams—most notably the Boston Red Sox from to . As of 2023, M ...

pitch thrown behind his head. A verbal altercation with Martínez caused benches to empty, and interrupted play. Shortly afterwards, Martínez famously told

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American media personality and recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early life and education Gammons was bo ...

during an interview on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

: Later in the same game, García jumped into the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

to assist Yankees teammate Jeff Nelson in a fight with a

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The United States Department o ...

. Martinez later referenced his famous quote during the Fenway Park centennial ceremonies, speaking on the microphone to fans before a game against the Yankees in 2012.

New York Mets

In 2004, García moved cross-town to the

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

. His brief tenure with the Mets included him and teammate

Shane Spencer Michael Shane Spencer (born February 20, 1972) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played a total of 538 games in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, a ...

involved in a physical altercation with a

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

deliveryman in a parking lot, but no charges were filed. In July, the Mets traded him to the

for

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Mike DeJean. The Orioles released him in August 2004 with a .212 batting average.

After Major League Baseball

García spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

League, batting a combined .281 with 44 homers and 97 RBIs. Thanks to the advice of

, he became more patient than before, adapting to his new environment in Japan. On August 10-August 11, 2005, García hit three home runs in two consecutive games against the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

, becoming the only player in Japanese baseball history to accomplish that. On January 8, 2007, García signed a minor league deal with the

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

. However, he was released during

Spring Training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He ended up joining the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

for the 2007 season, and batted .374 with 20 home runs to lead his team to a national championship. García signed with the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

(KBO) for the 2008 season. He played right field, batted fifth, and was one of the crowd favorites in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

, posting a .283 batting average with 30 home runs and led the league with 111 RBIs in 125

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. After the season, García won the

KBO League Golden Glove Award The KBO League Golden Glove Award is an award given out annually by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) to the best overall player at each position in the KBO League. It is also commonly known as the KBO Golden Gloves. The award was established i ...

as an outfielder. García stayed with the Giants through the 2010 season, hitting at least 26 home runs each season he was with team. In 2011, he returned to the

in Mexico for a second season with the team. In June 2011, García came back again in South Korea to sign

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

of the KBO. He played for the Eagles until the end of the season. In 2012, he played for the

of the Mexican Summer League and the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo () are a professional baseball team based in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP). The team plays at the Estadio Fernando Valenzuela with a capacity of 16,000 seated spectators. ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

. In a ten-season major league career, García posted a .241 batting average with 66 home runs and 212 RBIs in 488

International career

García represented his native country,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, as an outfielder on the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 2nd-ranked baseball team in the world. Current rost ...

for the

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

tournaments.

References

External links

*
2005 feat
The Baseball Guru
Who are you Karim Garcia?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Karim 1975 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Baltimore Orioles players Binghamton Mets players Bravos de León managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Detroit Tigers players Hanwha Eagles players Los Angeles Dodgers players Lotte Giants players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican expatriate baseball players in South Korea Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball outfielders Naranjeros de Hermosillo players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Kiwoom Heroes players Orix Buffaloes players Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games bronze medalists in baseball Baseball players from Ciudad Obregón Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Sultanes de Monterrey players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Sidewinders players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Tomateros de Culiacán players Yaquis de Obregón players Vero Beach Dodgers players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games World Baseball Classic players of Mexico