St. Louis Cardinals: Best Jaime Garcia Moments as a Redbird
Sep 13, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (54) pitches to a Chicago Cubs batter during the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
On December 1st, the St. Louis Cardinals made a deal to trade Jaime Garcia for the Atlanta Braves. Garcia debuted in 2008 and had an interesting career with the Redbirds.
The move brought an expected end to Jaime Garcia’s tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals following a 2016 season which saw him falter down the stretch. It was speculated since his option for $12 million was picked up by the front office on November 3rd that he would be moved in a trade. The free agent market for starting pitching this offseason is thin, giving Garcia value to teams looking for starting pitching depth.
Garcia’s tenure was marked by injuries, inconsistencies and “what ifs?” After a brief debut in 2008, Garcia made only thirty starts twice as a St. Louis Cardinal. From 2012 to 2014, he made only 36 combined appearances, and many believed his time would be over before the 2015 season began.
Yet, general manager John Mozeliak stood by Jaime, giving him one more chance to succeed with the only team he had ever known in the Major Leagues. After injury delayed his start to the 2015 season, Garcia made his season debut on May 21st.
Garcia was strong from the start, going 7.0 innings and surrendering only two runs to the New York Mets. He would turn in his healthiest campaign since 2011, making twenty starts and posting a 2.70 ERA. In a stretch from June 1st until August 14th, Jaime Garcia would make eight starts and give up only eight earned runs. There is no question, when Garcia was healthy and he was on, he was darn near unhittable.
Garcia would start the 2016 season without missing a beat, carrying a 2.86 ERA through May 17th. He remained one of the St. Louis Cardinals more effective pitchers in the first half before falling off in August and September.
Jaime Garcia gave the St. Louis Cardinals more than most fans would give him credit for, and he continued this all the way down to his trade. In trading Garcia, the Cardinals received three mid-tier prospects, a much greater value than the nothing the Cardinals would have received for declining his option.
Despite his health issues, Jaime Garcia provided great value to the St. Louis Cardinals. Since 1970, Jaime Garcia ranks 12th among all Cardinals pitchers in fWAR. He ranks 16th among all Cardinals pitchers with more than 500 innings posting a 3.57 ERA. He was 5th in K/9 with 7.26, and 14th with a winning percentage of .579, going 62-45.
In tribute to Jaime Garcia, I look back on my favorite moments with him wearing the Birds on the Bat.
The southpaw’s first appearance as a St. Louis Cardinal came when Garcia entered to start the eighth inning of division rivalry contest. The Cardinals had surrendered no runs to this point, and Garcia would go on to complete the team shutout in a 6-0 win.
Working two innings, Jaime Garcia faced seven batters, allowing one hit and one walk while recording the first two strikeouts of his young career. Garcia would make one start that season on July 20th while making eight more relief appearances.
At the young age of 21 years old, Jaime Garcia admittedly struggle in his first taste of MLB action. Over his ten appearances, Garcia surrendered a 5.63 ERA in 16 innings. Part of this was due to poor luck with home runs, giving up four in his short time in the MLB.
Despite these struggles, Garcia showed promise over these appearances, as six of his ten outings were scoreless. Garcia would earn his first win in an extra inning contest on August 5th, holding the Dodgers to no runs in the top of the 11th before the St. Louis Cardinals would walk it off in the bottom of the inning.
Unfortunately, Jaime’s first season would be cut short, and on September 9th he would go under the knife for Tommy John surgery. This was his first of many injuries as an MLB starter, but Garcia’s return to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010 after rehabbing his arm was a testament to his determination and resiliency in the face of adversity.
4. Jaime Garcia’s stellar comeback rookie season.
After missing the entire 2009 season due to Tommy John surgery, Jaime Garcia entered the St. Louis Cardinals 2010 spring training fight for a roster spot. In the end, a strong spring training earned him the fifth spot in the starting rotation in what would officially count as his rookie season.
No one could have expected the success Jaime would have in his first full season, especially coming off of a major elbow injury. Jaime Garcia started the season by allowing only one run over six innings against the Brewers and never looked back. Garcia would carry a sub-2.00 ERA all the through June 22nd, cementing his status as one of the top young pitchers in the game.
While he entered the All-Star break with a 2.17 ERA and an 8-4 record, Garcia was left off the NL team (though a case certainly could have been made for his inclusion). However, Jaime would go on to place third in NL Rookie of the Year Voting behind Buster Posey and Jason Heyward while tallying a 13-8 record; he was the only NL pitcher to receive any Rookie of the Year votes. His 2.70 ERA would rank above eight of the eleven starting pitchers who received Cy Young votes that season.
Garcia’s rookie year showed the skill and potential he possessed at a young age. He would flash this ability at times over the next six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, but this was his best and most consistent campaign until 2015.
3. On October 20, 2011 Jaime Garcia tosses his best postseason game.
The 2011 postseason was an unforgettable time for the St. Louis Cardinals. With the trade of Jaime Garcia, only Lance Lynn and Yadier Molina remain from the 2011 World Series roster (Adam Wainwright missed that season due to injury).
While Garcia has been much maligned for disappointing in big games, he showed up in Game 2 of the 2011 World Series. After taking the first game, the St. Louis Cardinals handed the ball to Jaime Garcia in hopes of taking a commanding lead in the series.
Jaime Garcia would do his part, flashing smooth brilliance over seven shutout innings of three hit ball. He would strike out seven Rangers while walking only one and facing just three batters over the minimum. He would exit the game with a 1-0 lead before the bullpen would unfortunately give up the game in the final inning.
Surely, Garcia had his struggles over the course of his career when more seemed to be at stake. However, he deserves credit for shutting down the Texas bats in what was the biggest start of his career at the time. With a Game Score of 77, this outing was one of the best of Jaime’s time with the Cardinals, especially when factoring in the circumstances. He was efficient and effective, throwing only 87 pitches while keeping the Rangers from even posting a threat.
Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
2. Jaime Garcia posts his final shutout as a Cardinal against the rival Brewers.
While Garcia would put together many outstanding starts over his career as with the St. Louis Cardinals, his performance on April 14th, 2016 was the epitome of vintage Jaime. As manager Mike Matheny would say after the game, “Every time he walks out there he has a chance to throw a no-hitter … When he’s healthy, he’s special.”
In his second start of the 2016 season, Jaime continued on his roll from 2015. Facing Milwaukee, Jaime would throw the fourth complete game and shutout of his career. Garcia would take a no hitter into the sixth before it was broken up by a harmless single from Domingo Santana. In the end, Garcia allowed only one hit and one walk while racking up thirteen strikeouts.
Overall, Jaime Garcia would put together the best start of his career as measured by a Game Score of 97; he only had one other start in his career with a Game Score of 90. His start against the Brewers would rank second among all MLB pitchers in 2016, trailing only a Madison Bumgarner start by one point.
Jaime Garcia broke a St. Louis Cardinals record by becoming the first lefty in Cardinals history to toss a shutout while striking out 13 or more hitters. The outing was his first complete game and shut out since 2011, and would be his last as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
There is no question that this was the best game of Jaime’s tenure in St. Louis. If not for circumstances outside his control, this would undoubtedly be my favorite Jaime moment. However, St. Louis Cardinals fans would be remiss to forget one more part Garcia played in the 2011 World Series championship run.
1. October 27th, 2011: Jaime Garcia starts Game 6 of the 2011 World Series.
Starting Game 6 against the Texas Rangers in the 2011 World Series (arguably the best World Series game in St. Louis Cardinals history), Jaime Garcia would struggle for three innings before being lifted from the ball game with the score tied at 2.
We all know how that game ended, but a reminder never hurts:
Without Jaime Garcia (for better or worse, in this game), the St. Louis Cardinals are likely never in extra innings. David Freese never hits the season saving, down-to-his-last-strike triple over the head of Nelson Cruz to tie the game in the 9th. Lance Berkman never hits his season saving, down-to-his-last-strike single into center to tie the game in the 10th. David Freese never walks it off in the 11th.
Jaime Garcia’s tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals was marked by considerable peaks and valleys, and his seasons were often tainted by injury. However, he continually displayed determination and grit to make it back on the field and perform effectively.
I can certainly say that it is sad to see Jaime Garcia leave the St. Louis Cardinals. When healthy, he was one of the Cardinals best pitchers. His time in St. Louis will always leave room for speculation on what could have been. However, I hope that Cardinals fans will remember him for his resiliency and his successes while in St. Louis.
I still hope to see a Jaime Garcia that can remain healthy and perform at the level I so often saw over the past nine years since his debut in 2008. He has an opportunity this upcoming year in a contract season to earn a well-deserved lucrative deal in the 2017-2018 offseason. After completing consecutive healthy seasons for the first time since 2010 and 2011, I am hopeful he can do just that.
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Speaking on behalf of St. Louis Cardinals fans, I would like to say farewell to Jaime Garcia and wish him the best of luck in the upcoming season and beyond. We’ll miss your bright red mitt.
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