Edward Miguel "Mike" Garcia (November 17, 1923 – January 13, 1986), nicknamed "Big Bear" and "Mexican Mike", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Garcia was born in San Gabriel, California, and grew up in Orosi, Tulare County.
Garcia entered minor league baseball at the age of 18. After one season, he joined the U.S. Army and served for three years. Following his honorable discharge, he returned to baseball. He was promoted to MLB in 1948. He played 12 of his 14 major league seasons for the Cleveland Indians.
From 1949 to 1954, Garcia joined Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, and Bob Feller on the Indians' "Big Four" pitching staff. Historians consider the "Big Four" to be one of the greatest starting pitching rotations in baseball history. During those six seasons with the "Big Four", Garcia compiled a record of 104 wins against 57 losses. He had two 20-win seasons and led the American League (AL) in earned run average (ERA) and shutouts twice each.
Garcia's best season came in 1954 when the Indians won a league record 111 games. Baseball historian Stephen Lombardi said that Garcia may have been the best AL pitcher that year. Garcia remained with the Indians until 1959, but never duplicated the success he had achieved in 1954. In his last five seasons with Cleveland, he finished with losing records three times. After leaving the Indians, Garcia spent a season with the Chicago White Sox and a season with the Washington Senators.
Garcia retired from baseball in 1961. He developed diabetes within a few years and suffered from kidney disease and heart problems until his death. Garcia died outside Cleveland at the age of 62 and was buried in his home state of California. He was the only member of the "Big Four" not elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but he has been included on a list of the 100 Greatest Indians and has been inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. Baseball experts and former teammates have commented on Garcia's overpowering pitching, his fine control and his low ERA.
Early life
Garcia was born in San Gabriel, California, and was of both Indigenous Gabrieleño and Mexican heritage. He grew up on a ranch in Orosi, California, where his father, Merced Garcia, moved the family when Mike was 2. Mike's family had close ties to that of Atlanta Braves infielder Marty Perez, and the two referred to each other as cousins.
Mike's father raised horses, and Mike aspired to race them. He participated in one race and was thrown from the horse. Garcia played four years of high school baseball, the first three years at Orosi High School and the last at Visalia High School.
Garcia was pitching in semipro baseball when Cleveland Indians scout Willis Butler noticed him in Tulare, California. In 1942, Butler signed him as an amateur free agent to the organization's Class D farm team, the Appleton Papermakers of the Wisconsin State League. He spent the next three years as a signalman in the United States Army during World War II, serving in Europe as a member of the Signal Corps.
Garcia was discharged from the Army at the age of 22 and returned to the Cleveland organization. He played for the Class C Bakersfield Indians of the California League. With Bakersfield, Garcia's ERA and strikeouts led the league and he earned 22 wins. The Indians won the World Series in six games. It was the franchise's second World Series victory, but Garcia did not make a World Series appearance.
Nicknamed "The Big Bear" by teammate Joe Gordon for his large frame, Garcia was listed at , 200 lb (91 kg) during his career. Garcia said that his actual playing weight was between 215 and 220 lb (97–100 kg). Garcia also acquired the nickname "Mexican Mike" in the press. However, Garcia's minority status was not a novelty. The Indians had signed Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, in 1947. The 1951 team added manager Al López and Latino players Minnie Miñoso and Jesse Flores to a squad that already included Garcia and Mexican player Bobby Ávila. Early on, Garcia was paired to room with Avila, who had just signed with the team and did not speak English. Garcia served as a translator for Avila well beyond their first season together.
Garcia returned to the Indians in 1949. A newspaper article predicted that Garcia might fill big needs in the Cleveland bullpen. Garcia saw action as a starter and as a relief pitcher that year, starting 20 of his 41 regular season appearances. He finished his rookie season with a 14–5 record, a league-leading 2.36 ERA, 94 strikeouts and five shutouts. Fellow pitcher Bob Feller said, "From the beginning, Mike was a sneaky quick pitcher. For a big guy, he was certainly mobile." One year removed from his rookie season, expectations from Indians general manager Hank Greenberg and pitching coach Mel Harder were for Garcia to become a key piece of the Indians' rotation. "Garcia has all the potentialities of a really great pitcher. I see no reason he should not reach greatness this season", Greenberg said. Garcia finished the 1950 season 11–11.
By the 1951 season, media sources had given the nickname "Big Four" to the pitching combination of Garcia, Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn. Garcia had learned to control the curveball that Harder taught him in spring training of 1949. Cleveland sportswriter Hal Lebovitz wrote, "Garcia, until the day he died, would tell me how much of the success he owed to Harder." On August 7 against the St. Louis Browns, Garcia reached a career-high 15 wins. In a 5–1 victory, he also recorded his second career home run. Garcia won 20 games in 1951 and finished fifth in the AL with six saves.
All-Star seasons
In 1952, Garcia made his first of three consecutive All-Star teams. As the Indians battled for the 1952 American League pennant heading into September, he began the month with three consecutive shutouts during an eight-game Indian win streak. In a 7–1 loss, Garcia gave up four earned runs on five hits in three innings. Garcia finished ninth in the 1952 MVP voting.
In 1953, Garcia and Lemon were named pitchers on the AL All-Star squad. Doby and Al Rosen were also on the team, with Rosen selected as the game's MVP. Garcia finished the season 18–9; he pitched a career-high 29 complete games with 134 strikeouts and a 3.25 ERA. Like the previous season, Lemon and Garcia finished first and second in the American League in innings pitched. Garcia was labeled "one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game" by The Cleveland Press Guide.
On May 16, 1954, Garcia pitched a one-hitter against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 6–0 Indians win. Garcia called it the finest game of his career. During a late July exhibition game, Garcia learned that his father had died at the age of 65; Garcia's son Michael was born the same day. He missed several games that year with a broken blood vessel in his throwing hand, but he managed 45 appearances on the season.
Entering the final regular season game in 1954, Garcia had 19 wins; he would have received a bonus if he collected 20 wins. After pitching 12 innings, he left with the score tied at 6–6. The Tigers won after 13 innings, 8–7. Earning a no-decision, Garcia failed to reach the 20-win mark. However, Greenberg had assured Garcia he would receive a bonus whether he won 20 games or not. Garcia was 19–8 with 129 strikeouts, again leading the AL in both ERA (2.64) and shutouts (5). Garcia started game three, but was replaced by a pinch hitter in the bottom of the third inning, already trailing 4–0. Author Jonathan Knight described the progression of the game: "...a throwing error by George Strickland, and Mike Garcia had struggled in the opening frame, allowing three baserunners, as panic began to creep into Municipal Stadium. For the first time all year, it was warranted."
Final years with Indians
From 1955 to 1959, Garcia finished with losing records in three of five seasons. The 1955 season represented Garcia's first losing record (11–13) and his first season ERA over 4.00. The 1954 ERA leader finished 1955 with a 4.02 ERA. Garcia repeated a losing mark on the 1956 season (11–12), the only time in his career he finished with consecutive losing seasons. Cleveland finished 88–66 and nine games behind first place, which went to the Yankees again. Lopez was replaced as manager by Kerby Farrell. In spring training before the 1957 season, Farrell observed that the league's best pitching staff could not carry the team alone. Garcia ended the season 12–8 with a 3.75 ERA, but the Indians finished sixth in the American League. Their 76–77 finish was the club's first losing record since 1946.
Bobby Bragan replaced Farrell as manager to begin the 1958 season. During a spring training game in March, Garcia slipped on a wet pitcher's mound and injured his back. He did not make his first regular season appearance until April 27 and he underwent surgery in June for a herniated disc. He finished the season with a 1–0 record in six appearances and eight innings of work. That same month, Bragan was fired as manager. He was replaced by former Indians player Joe Gordon, and the Indians finished 77–76.
Garcia elected to become a free agent in the offseason, but he returned to the Indians, saying that his home and his dry cleaning business were in Cleveland. "Everything being equal, I'll sign with the Indians if I decide I'm able to pitch... This is a friendly city and I like it", he said. He did not make his first season start until May 3, when he allowed four hits and no earned runs in a complete game loss. He finished with a 3–6 record, a 4.00 ERA and 72 innings pitched in his twelfth and final season with the Indians. He appeared in 15 games and pitched 17.2 innings with 4.58 ERA and 0–0 record. The Senators placed him on waivers before the end of the season. He finished with a 0–1 record, pitched 19 innings in 16 games and earned a 4.74 ERA. Garcia raced midget cars during and after his baseball career. Garcia injured the index finger of his throwing hand while working on a midget car in late 1959, but the wound was repaired without lasting effects.
Illness and death
Garcia developed diabetes in his forties. As a result, he suffered from kidney disease and heart damage in the last years of his life. Faced with dialysis three times per week, Garcia joined his former teammates at fundraising events to defray his medical expenses. He died in Fairview Park, Ohio on January 13, 1986, at the age of 62. He died on his 35th wedding anniversary. He was buried in his hometown of Visalia, California.
Legacy
Garcia was not selected a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His normal window of eligibility has closed, and he can be elected only by decision of the Hall's Veterans Committee. Baseball historian Bill James dismissed Garcia's low ERA due to the "cold, cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which at that time had a pitcher's mound higher than white cliffs of Dover". Referring to Garcia's great seasons of 1949 to 1954, baseball historian Wayne Corbett countered, "Garcia's more famous teammates enjoyed the same home-field advantage, but it was Garcia who recorded the staff's lowest ERA in four of those six seasons." Bob Lemon describes his pitches similarly. "Hitting a Garcia pitch was like hitting a shotput", Lemon said. Lemon also commented on his deceptive control. "Mike was a sneak. His physical size belied really fine control", said Lemon.
Garcia was named one of the 100 Greatest Indians in March 2001 and inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame on August 11, 2007. Each year, the Indians organization gives the Mike Garcia Award to an area high school student who demonstrates "outstanding success in the classroom, on the field, and in their community."
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders