Super fun card creation today on the blog, my 1979 "not so missing" slab for Damaso Garcia, who began his Major League career with the New York Yankees in 1978:
Garcia appeared in 18
games with the eventual World Champions in 1978, hitting .195 with eight
hits over 41 at-bats, playing both shortstop and second base.
He'd
play in eleven games with the Bronx Bombers in 1979 before finding
himself traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Chris Chambliss and
Paul Mirabella on November 1st of 1979 for Rick Cerone, Tom Underwood
and Ted Wilborn, a trade that helped his career with the given
opportunity to play everyday.
With that chance he would not
disappoint, finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year race in 1980,
hitting .278 with 151 hits, 30 doubles and 13 stolen bases.
He
would go on to make two All-Star teams while also taking home a Silver
Slugger Award in 1982 when he collected a career-best 185 hits, 80 runs
scored and 54 stolen bases.
While a consistent contributor to
the Blue jays through the 1986 season, his relationship with manager
Jimy Williams went South, leading to a trade to the Atlanta Braves
before the 1987 season, with him spending the entire season in the
Minors.
He'd make it back to the Majors in 1988, but for only
21 games, hitting .117 before finding himself with the Montreal Expos in
1989, for what turned out to be the last 80 games of his career,
hitting .271.
Sadly, shortly after his playing days were over,
he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, with subsequent surgery saving his
life but leading to physical impairments that would stay with him the
rest of his days.
Happily, he would live until the age of 63, eventually passing away due to cancer in April of 2020.
