Damaso Garcia, R.I.P.

Former MLB second baseman Damaso Garcia, who played the bulk of his 11-year big league career with the Toronto Blue Jays during the 1980's, has passed away at the age of 63. No cause of death has been released.

Garcia's death comes scarcely two months after the death of his fellow Dominican countryman Tony Fernandez who was his double play partner towards the end of his tenure in Toronto.

Originally signed by the New York Yankees in 1975, Garcia would have cups of coffee with the Bronx Bombers in 1978 and 1979. Following the 1979 season, the Yankees traded Garcia along with Chris Chambliss to the Blue Jays for Rick Cerone and Tom Underwood (Chambliss never played in the Jays uniform and was quickly shipped to the Atlanta Braves).

Garcia proved to be the best part of this trade. He became the Jays' every day second baseman in 1980 finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. In 1982, Garcia earned a Silver Slugger award when he hit a career high .310 along with 20 stolen bases. Garcia would be selected to the AL All-Star Team in both 1984 and 1985. While Garcia did earn a World Series ring with the Yankees in 1978, he never saw any post-season action. That would have to wait until 1985 when the Jays won their first AL East division crown.

Following the 1986 season, the Jays traded Garcia along with pitcher Luis Leal to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Craig McMurtry in a deal which benefited neither team. Garcia would miss the entire 1987 season due to an injury to his left knee. The Braves would release Garcia in May 1988 after he only .117 in 21 games played. Garcia signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers soon after but did not see action for that year's World Series champions. His MLB career would end in 1989 with the Montreal Expos. Garcia finished with 1,108 hits for a lifetime batting average of .283 with 36 HR and 323 RBI along with 203 stolen bases.

In 1991, at the age of 36, Garcia was diagnosed with a brain tumor which required surgery. The disease affected Garcia's mobility and speech for the rest of his life.

Baseball players sometimes do odd things. On May 14, 1986, following a 9-4 loss to the Oakland A's during which Garcia went 0 for 4 and committed a critical error late in the game allowing the A's to rally for five runs, Garcia lit his uniform ablaze much to the consternation of Jays manager Jimy Williams. But Garcia's act sparked his bat as he hit .296 for the remainder of the season.

Yet this might have been Garcia's ticket out of Toronto. Had Garcia been on the Jays roster in 1987 could he have helped stopped the Detroit Tigers from overtaking them for the AL East title? Had he remained in Toronto would Garcia's career have been extended another five years? Had Garcia still been productive would they have felt the need to acquire Roberto Alomar from the San Diego Padres after the 1990 season? We shall never know.

I leave you with Garcia beginning a 9th inning rally for the Jays in Game 4 of the 1985 ALCS against the Kansas City Royals. R.I.P.