Freddy García

Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for seven Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, including the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees. García has also pitched in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), Mexican League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. He currently serves as the pitching coach for Caliente de Durango of the Mexican League.

García's best year was in 2001 in which he led the American League in innings pitched and ERA. He made the All-Star team in 2001 and 2002. He was a member of the 2005 World Series-winning White Sox and started the series-ending Game 4.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Originally signed by the Houston Astros as an international free agent in 1993, García was acquired by Seattle in 1998, along with Carlos Guillén and John Halama in the trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Astros.

Chicago White Sox

250px|thumb|left|García with the [[2005 Chicago White Sox season|Chicago White Sox in 2005]]On June 27, 2004, García and catcher Ben Davis were traded to the Chicago White Sox for Michael Morse, Miguel Olivo, and Jeremy Reed. García was the starting pitcher in Game 4 of the 2005 World Series for the Chicago White Sox, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Houston Astros. The White Sox won the game and the World Series, completing a four-game sweep.

In 2006, he surpassed 1,000 strikeouts for his career. In eight post-season games, he was 5–2 with a 3.56 ERA in 48 innings. Also during 2006, on April 29, García recorded his 103rd career win in a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, surpassing former White Sox left-hander Wilson Álvarez as the Venezuelan native with the most career wins in Major League history. He finished the season 17–9 with a 4.53 ERA.

García experienced a shoulder injury that limited his performance for the first several months of the season. He was placed on the disabled list (DL) in June, and had shoulder surgery in August. García made 11 starts before being placed on the DL and earned one win.

Detroit Tigers

In August 2008, García signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. In his first 2 minor league starts with the Tigers he pitched 5 innings, gave up no runs, and struck out 5. In his Tigers debut in late September, García, with a limited pitch count, threw 5 scoreless innings to get the win.

New York Mets

In January 2009, García agreed to a minor league deal with the New York Mets. He was released on April 28, 2009, after two bad starts for the Buffalo Bisons.

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On June 8, 2009, García signed a minor league contract with the White Sox. García started on August 18 against the Kansas City Royals for the first time with the White Sox since 2006. In his first game back with Chicago, García went innings allowing 5 earned runs in a losing effort. He finished the season with a 3–4 record and a 4.34 ERA.

On October 5, the White Sox exercised their 2010 option on García, a $1 million base salary with $2 million in possible incentives. He became a free agent following the 2010 season.

New York Yankees

200px|thumb|García pitching for the [[2011 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees in 2011]]

On January 31, 2011, García agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees worth $1.5 million. On March 25, the Yankees announced that García would be in the Yankees' starting rotation. He finished the season with a solid 12–8 record and a 3.62 ERA, however, he was consistently hammered by teams with winning records, most notably the Boston Red Sox. García was on the mound in relief as the Sox won their second game of the season on April 10, as well as 2 other losses on May 15 and June 7. However, García did manage to defeat the Red Sox on September 24.

García also lost his only playoff start in Game 2 as the Yankees were defeated by the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series in five games. Despite this, the Yankees offered him a one-year deal worth $4 million with incentives for the 2012 season. The deal became official on December 9.

In 2012, García was expected to challenge for a starting spot with Phil Hughes, A. J. Burnett, Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda. However, Burnett was traded in the offseason, and Pineda was diagnosed with a shoulder injury, thereby allowing García into the rotation.

García began the 2012 season with bad footing as he threw 5 wild pitches in his first start against the Baltimore Orioles. He was demoted to the bullpen after going 0–2 in April with a 12.51 ERA, averaging only 3.1 innings per start. David Phelps was moved into the starting rotation.

García immediately improved once in the bullpen. In his two-month relief stint, he posted a 1.56 ERA in 17.1 innings. His sinker's speed also improved, from an average of 87.1 mph in April to 88.6 in May/June.

A fibula injury to Andy Pettitte in late June brought García back into the rotation. Overall, García finished the 2012 season with a 7–6 record and a 5.20 ERA in 30 games appeared (17 started). He became a free agent following the season.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 28, 2013, García signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres. He was released by the Padres on March 24. He promptly signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and joined the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. He was called up on May 4 to make his Orioles debut on the road at Anaheim. He was designated for assignment on June 24. Three days later, García signed another minor league contract and returned to Norfolk.

Atlanta Braves

On August 23, 2013, the Orioles traded García to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations. He had his contract selected to the major league roster on September 1. García pitched effectively for the Braves, going 1–2 with a 1.65 ERA in September (1–1, 1.83 ERA in 3 starts). He started Game 4 of the NLDS. Although the Braves lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, García pitched well, giving up 2 runs over 6 innings and was in line for the win when he left the game. The 2014 postseason would be his last appearance in the majors.

He returned to the Braves on a minor league contract signed January 24, 2014. He was released on March 24.

EDA Rhinos

On April 18, 2014, García signed with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The seven-month deal included incentives that increased its worth up to $392,000, and was the most lucrative in CPBL history until Lin Chih-sheng signed a three-year deal for $1.36 million in January 2016. In his first game for the Rhinos on May 10, 2014, García pitched six innings of shutout ball on four hits in a no-decision before being pulled after 77 pitches. The Rhinos won the game 5–0 against the Chinatrust Brother Elephants in front of a sellout crowd of more than 12,000. García went 11–9 for the Rhinos with a 3.19 ERA in 161 innings pitched.

Olmecas de Tabasco/Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 25, 2015, García signed with the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican League. However, on April 9, García signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers. He appeared in four games and made one start for Oklahoma City, allowing seven runs in 7.1 innings and was released on April 21.

García rejoined the Olmecas in June. With Tabasco, he made 6 starts, throwing 33.1 innings, going 1–2 with a 5.67 ERA and 21 strikeouts. and started the first and final games of the 2016 Caribbean Series. He announced his retirement after the series concluded. In 5 starts (35.1 innings), he went 3–1 with a 2.55 ERA and 23 strikeouts with Aragua.

On April 8, 2016, García came out of retirement and re-signed with the Monterrey. He was released on May 3. In 5 starts 23.1 innings he went 2–0 with a 5.01 ERA and 14 strikeouts.

Leones de Yucatán

On March 5, 2018, García signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He was released on April 23. He made 5 starts, throwing 23.2 innings going 2–2 with a 5.32 ERA and 22 strikeouts.

García was on the 2019 Hall of Fame ballot. He received no votes and became ineligible for the 2020 ballot.

International career

García pitched for the Venezuela national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In two starts, he went 1–0 with a 1.23 ERA in innings pitched.

García coached the Palestine national team in the Baseball United Arab Classic in 2024 and 2025 Asian Baseball Championship.

Pitching style

García threw a fastball that topped out in the 90s in his prime and a hard slider. He also threw a two-seam fastball, a curveball, a split-finger fastball and occasionally used a changeup.

García was a power pitcher early in his career, but as he got older, García lost velocity on his pitches and compensated by developing a broad repertoire of up to six or seven pitches. In the 2013 season, García threw the following pitches, in order of their use:

Four-seam fastball — 86–90 mph
Slider — 78–82 mph
Curveball — 72–76 mph
Splitter — 78–82 mph
Changeup — 80–84 mph
Sinker — 86–90 mph

García also adjusted his approach to the strike zone, being especially careful not to leave pitches in the middle of the plate: "He doesn't really have the electric stuff, so he's going to stay on the corners and stay out of the zone."

Personal life

García and his wife married in 2004. They have two children.