Dámaso García
| Dámaso García | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Second baseman | |||
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Born: February 7, 1957 Moca, Dominican Republic | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| June 24, 1978, for the New York Yankees | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 12, 1989, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .283 | ||
| Home runs | 36 | ||
| Runs batted in | 323 | ||
| Stolen bases | 203 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Dámaso Domingo García Sánchez (born February 7, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball player best known for his time spent with the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980s.
Originally he played soccer. In 1974, he was the Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra soccer team's captain. That year he played too as the captain for the Dominican Republic national football team at XII Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo.
Playing career
García made his major league debut in 1978 with the New York Yankees He played in 29 games over the following two seasons before being traded with Chris Chambliss and Paul Mirabella to the Toronto Blue Jays for Tom Underwood, Rick Cerone and Ted Wilborn prior to the 1980 season.
As Toronto's second baseman through 1986, García batted over .300 twice (1982 and 1983); stole 54 bases in 1982 (2nd in the American League) and 46 in 1984 (6th in the AL), and was an All-Star twice (1984–85). He also won the Silver Slugger Award in 1982.
Garcia batted leadoff during most of his tenure with the Blue Jays but was dropped to the ninth spot in the order at the beginning of the 1986 season.[1] Garcia struggled in the new spot in the order.[1] On May 14, 1986, following a loss to the Cleveland Indians Garcia burned his uniform in the hopes of ending the slump.[2] This move angered Blue Jays manager Jimy Williams who confronted Garcia in front of the entire team and strained Garcia's relationship with the Blue Jays.[2] Garcia was traded along with Luis Leal to the Atlanta Braves (for Craig McMurtry) in the 1987 off-season.
Following the trade, García struggled to find a major league home. He played some time with the Braves in 1988 and the Montreal Expos in 1989, but failed to make the cut during the same period with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. He retired having compiled a .283 career batting average, 36 home runs, 323 RBI, 490 runs and 203 stolen bases.
Illness
A year after he retired, Garcia started to have double vision and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In 1991, Garcia had the tumor removed, and was told that he only had six months to live.[3] The effects of the tumor left him with limited speech and certain movement. He recovered enough to throw out the first pitch of a Blue Jays playoff game in 1992.[3] His oldest son suffers from hemophilia.[3] and now runs a baseball camp for hemophiliac children in the Dominican Republic.
See also
- List of players from Dominican Republic in Major League Baseball
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
References
- 1 2 "Flashback Friday: Damasco Garcia Sets His Uniform on Fire". The Blue Jay Hunter, June 5, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- 1 2 Elliot, Bob. "Garcia still burned up about making ashes out of Jays' uniform". Ottawa Citizen, December 10, 1986. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
- 1 2 3 White, Paul. "Garcia still making a difference". USA Today, February 26, 2002. Retrieved on January 6, 2009.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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