The Somerset Patriots signed their first big newcomer of the season Monday when they announced the addition of former major-league infielder Danny Garcia, who played 77 major-league games with the 2003 and 2004 Mets and spent last season at Triple-A for the Yankees.
I spoke with Garcia on Monday night, and he seemed determined to make his first trip to independent baseball a short one. Garica is 23 months removed from surgery on his labrum.
Former Patriot Charles Poe, a coach in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, set up Garcia with Patriots hitting coach Kevin Dattola and the rest is history.
Two weeks shy of his 27th birthday, Garcia certainly is young enough to be an appealing candidate for a major-league team. It only took him 2 1/2 minor-league seasons to reach the majors the first time, so he clearly has the tools.
"I really just want everybody to remember that that's what I was right before this surgery happened," Garcia said. "That's who I am and it's where I'm going again."
Here are some of Garcia's thoughts on other things:
On May 17, 2005, the day he underwent surgery:
"That's the day my life got thrown off track."
On the Mets organization:
"My heart is always going to be with the Mets because that's where it all started. They're the team that gave me opportunity to be a big-league player."
On the Yankees organization:
"They are run how you think they would be run. Kudos to the Yankees in terms of how things are run. They gave me the chance to get back into baseball last year."
***With Garcia in, former Patriots second baseman George Sandel is out. Sandel, who spent the past two seasons with Somerset, said Monday that he is working on a contract with the Northern League's Edmonton Cracker Cats. Former Patriot pitcher Mike Johnson already signed with Edmonton, and Sandel said the two might not be done recruiting other former Patriots.
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3 comments:
I remember Garcia on those really bad Art Howe Mets teams. He played hard and he was better than Robby Alomar!
I'm looking forward to a better season this year. Garcia seems like a good guy.
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