Ryan Garko

From BR Bullpen

Ryan Francis Garko

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 225 lb.
School Stanford University
High School Servite High School
Debut September 18, 2005
Born January 2, 1981 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Ryan Garko broke in with the Cleveland Indians for one game in 2005, appeared in 50 games at the major league level in 2006, played more or less regularly in 2007, and is a regular in 2008. In his professional career, he has played catcher, DH, and first base.

Garko was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1981 and was a high-school All-American, setting records in five baseball categories, including home runs and RBI, and also getting a 4.2 GPA in his classes. He played in college for Stanford University. In his sophomore year he posted numbers of .368/.448/.562 and was chosen for the 2001 College World Series All-Tournament Team. In his junior year he put up .314/.430/.565. As a senior, his numbers were .402/.482/.703 and he was chosen for the 2003 College World Series All-Tournament Team. He was 0 for 5 with two walks and a sacrifice fly in the 2002 World University Championship.

He was drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Indians in 2003. He started at Mahoning Valley in the NYPL, hitting .273/.337/.406.

In 2004, at Kinston in the Carolina League, he had impressive numbers of .328/.425/.609 and was a Baseball America Second Team Minor League All-Star. Also that same year he was at Akron in the Eastern League, with a good performance of .331/.397/.523, and finished up at Buffalo of the International League, hitting .375 in 6 games.

In 2005, he was again at Buffalo, hitting .303/.384/.498. He came up to the Cleveland Indians for one game, striking out in his only at-bat.

He was in the 2005 Futures Game. Baseball America picked him as the 6th best prospect in the Cleveland Indians organization after the 2005 season.

In 2006, he did not do as well in Buffalo, with numbers of .248/.353/.421. Coming up to the major league team, he posted (a batting average of .292 and a slugging percentage of .470 in 50 major league games. He also led the International League with 19 times hit by a pitch.

At the age of 25, Garko became a regular player for the Indians in 2007. This was not the original plan of manager Eric Wedge, who had Andy Marte playing third base and Casey Blake at first base to start the year. However, Marte failed to hit, so Blake went back to third base, and Garko was given a chance to play first, which he did not waste, hitting .289 with 29 doubles and 21 home runs in 484 at bats. He hit a home run in Game One of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.