Check out the revisited feature on Carlos Garcia from August 2011: Every TimeFresh off a full rookie year that saw him hit 12 home runs and hit .269, some saw great things ahead for Pirate Carlos Garcia.
In spring 1994, one writer even asked whether Garcia was the next great Pirate second basemen.
"Sometimes I think that I don't want to feel as confident, or as overconfident, as I do," Garcia told the Associated Press in an account from the Ocala Star-Banner. "I have my first year behind me and that's out of the way and I don't have to prove myself anymore. Sometimes I don't know if that's good or that's bad."
Garcia was signed by the Pirates as a free agent out of Venezuela, hitting AA in 1989, then AAA and the majors in 1990. He debuted with Pittsburgh Sept. 4, 1990, playing in four games.
His next two years were spent mostly at AAA Buffalo, before sticking in the majors through 1997. But Garcia never again matched that rookie campaign. Four more years, 1998-2001, mostly in the minors, and Garcia was done.
The answer to the "next great Pirate second basemen" question was answered, of course, with a 'no.' Of course, there haven't been many "great Pirates" since, so maybe the writer could be forgiven for asking.
But Garcia is now working to give some other writer the opportunity to ask that question. He was named last October as the Pirates' new first base coach and infield instructor. He'd spent the previous two seasons working as the club's minor league infield instructor.
His efforts so far have been switching former catcher Jeff Clement to first base.
"He's working hard, man,'' Garcia told Fanhouse.com March 7. "He's my project for the spring, and he really wants this.''
- Ocala Star-Banner, Associated Press, March 12, 1994: Garcia next great Pirate?
- AOLNews.com, Fanhouse.com, March 7, 2010: Jeff Clement Tackling First Challenge
Cards Reviewed: 86/880 - 9.8%
Made the Majors: 51 - 59%
Never Made the Majors: 35 - 41%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 18
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 30
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