Karim García

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Karim Garcia

Lotte Giants — No. 95
Outfielder
Born: October 29, 1975 (1975-10-29) (age 32)
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
September 2, 1995 for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.241
Home runs	66
Runs batted in	212
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1995-1997) Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) Detroit Tigers (1999-2000) Baltimore Orioles (2000) Cleveland Indians (2001) New York Yankees (2002) Cleveland Indians (2002-2003) New York Yankees (2003) New York Mets (2004) Baltimore Orioles (2004) Orix Buffaloes (NPB) (2005-2006) Sultanes de Monterrey (LMB) (2007) Lotte Giants (KBO) (2008)

Gustavo Karim Garcia (born October 29, 1975 in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently playing for the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization. García played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1995-1997), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), Detroit Tigers (1999-2000), Baltimore Orioles (2000, 2004), Cleveland Indians (2001, 2002-2003), New York Yankees (2002-2003), and New York Mets (2004). He bats and throws left-handed. He is also known as "The Latino Bambino."^[1]

[edit] Career

In a ten-season major league career, Garcia posted a .241 batting average with 66 home runs and 212 RBI in 488 games played.

Following his first foray in the major leagues, Garcia played for the Orix Buffaloes from 2005 to 2006 as the cleanup hitter and right fielder. Thanks to the advice of Hideki Matsui, he has become more patient than before, adapting to his new environment in Japan.

On January 8, 2007, Garcia signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.^[2] He was released before he made an official start for them, and after that, played for the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. On January 14, 2008, Garcia signed with the Lotte Giants.

[edit] Post-Season Appearances

• 2003 American League Championship Series
• 2003 World Series

[edit] Feat

• On August 10-August 11, 2005, García hit three home runs in two consecutive games against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, becoming the only player in Japanese baseball history to accomplish that.

[edit] Trivia

• García is remembered for an incident in the 2003 ALCS at Fenway Park, when he jumped into the bullpen to assist Yankees teammate Jeff Nelson in a fight with a groundskeeper. García is also known for a conflict with Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez during the same series because of a pitch that hit Garcia in the back. Martínez's post-game response of "Who is Karim García?" became a catch phrase for Red Sox fans during this series.^{[citation needed]}
• Garcia is also known for being the player traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Luis Gonzalez and cash. Gonzalez went on to hit 57 home runs in 2001 and lead the Diamondbacks to the World Series. Garcia went on to become a career journeyman, lasting only one full season with the Tigers in 1999 (with 14 home runs) and playing just 8 games with them in 2000.

[edit] External links and references

• Baseball Reference - statistics and analysis in MLB
• [1] - statistics in Japan
• The Baseball Guru - 2005 feat