Pedro Modesto García (born April 17, 1950) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. He played 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 ...

(MLB) for the

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

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 ...

, and

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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

Career

Milwaukee Brewers (1973-1976)

Garcia signed as an amateur free agent with the

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington, during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their home games at Sick's Stadium and were a me ...

in 1969, but did not appear with the franchise before it became the

in 1970. With the departure of Ron Theobald, Garcia was named the Brewers' starting second baseman for the 1973 season, and made his Major League debut on April 6, going hitless in three at-bats against

Dave McNally David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...

in a 10-0 loss 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 ...

. Garcia earned his first career hit the next day, a home run against the Orioles'

Mike Cuellar Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a memb ...

in an extra inning 8-7 loss. As a rookie, Garcia hit .245 with 15 HR and 54 RBI in 160 games, as well as leading the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

with 32 doubles, as he finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting to

Al Bumbry Alonza Benjamin Bumbry (né Bumbrey; born April 21, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres from 1972 through 1985. Bumbry was the 1973 Major League Baseball Rook ...

of the

. Garcia also led all AL second basemen with 27 errors. In 1974, Garcia batted .199 with 12 HR and 54 RBI in 147 games. In 1975, Garcia lost playing time to

Kurt Bevacqua Kurt Anthony Bevacqua (; born January 23, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1971 to 1985. Bevacqua is notable for his performance during the 1984 World Series when h ...

and Bob Sheldon, appearing in only 98 games, hitting .225 with 6 HR and 38 RBI, although he tied

Robin Yount Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid" and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwauk ...

for the team high in stolen bases with 12. Garcia also led the American League with a .985 fielding percentage at second base. Garcia began the 1976 season with the Brewers, where in 41 games, he hit .217 with one home run and 9 RBI. On June 10, the Brewers traded Garcia to the

for

Gary Sutherland Gary Lynn Sutherland (September 27, 1944 – December 16, 2024), nicknamed "Sudsy", was an American professional baseball middle infielder. He player 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1966 to 1978 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Mo ...

Detroit Tigers (1976)

Garcia finished the 1976 season with the

, as he played in 77 games, hitting only .198 with 3 HR and 20 RBI. Garcia also committed a combined 22 errors with the Tigers and

in 1976 to finish with the second highest total among second basemen. On December 16, the Tigers released Garcia.

Toronto Blue Jays (1977)

Garcia signed as a free agent with the expansion

on January 3, 1977, and was their opening day second baseman on April 7. Garcia had three hits in the Blue Jays' opening day victory over the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, and was able to parlay this strong start into a gig as the Blue Jays' regular second baseman through April, and again from May 9 through 25. However he struggled at both the plate and in the field, and after May 25 was reduced to very occasional pinch-running and DH appearances. He was released on June 27, becoming the first opening day Blue Jay to end his major league career. In 41 games, he hit .208 with no home runs and 9 RBI.

Later career

After his time with Toronto, Garcia signed with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

on July 5, 1977, but he spent the rest of the 1977 and 1978 seasons with their AAA affiliate, the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

. Garcia played with the Poza Rica Petroleros 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 ...

in 1979, as well as the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in 1982.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Pedro 1950 births Living people Billings Mustangs players Clinton Pilots players Danville Warriors players Detroit Tigers players Diablos Rojos del México players Evansville Triplets players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball second basemen Milwaukee Brewers players Newark Co-Pilots players Sportspeople from Guayama, Puerto Rico Petroleros de Poza Rica players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Toronto Blue Jays players