Karim García facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karim García
García at Los Pinos with the Tigres de Quintana Roo in 2013
Right Fielder
Born: (1975-10-29) October 29, 1975 (age 49) Ciudad Obregón, Mexico
Batted: Left Threw: Left
Professional debut
MLB: September 2, 1995, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
NPB: March 26, 2005, for the Orix Buffaloes
KBO: March 29, 2008, for the Lotte Giants
Last appearance
MLB: August 24, 2004, for the Baltimore Orioles
NPB: September 27, 2006, for the Orix Buffaloes
KBO: October 4, 2011, for the Hanwha Eagles
MLB statistics
Batting average	.241
Home runs	66
Runs batted in	212
NPB statistics
Batting average	.281
Home runs	34
Runs batted in	97
KBO statistics
Batting average	.264
Home runs	103
Runs batted in	339
Teams
Los Angeles Dodgers (1995–1997) Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) Detroit Tigers (1999–2000) Baltimore Orioles (2000) Cleveland Indians (2001) New York Yankees (2002) Cleveland Indians (2002–2003) New York Yankees (2003) New York Mets (2004) Baltimore Orioles (2004) Orix Buffaloes (2005–2006) Lotte Giants (2008–2010) Hanwha Eagles (2011)
Medals Men's baseball Representing Mexico Pan American Games Bronze 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team

Gustavo Karim García Aguayo (born October 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball player from Mexico. He played as a right fielder and was known for batting and throwing with his left hand.

Karim García's Baseball Journey

Starting in the Minor Leagues

Karim García was born in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. He started his baseball career early, signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1992 when he was just 16 years old. He played in their minor league system.

In 1995, he played for the Albuquerque Dukes. He hit .319, which means he got a hit almost 32% of the time. He also hit 20 home runs and had 91 runs batted in (RBIs). That September, he became the youngest player in Major League Baseball (MLB) when he joined the Dodgers.

He played a few games with the Dodgers in 1996 and 1997. However, he spent most of his time in their minor league teams. Over five seasons, he had a .281 batting average. He hit 98 home runs and had 375 RBIs in the minor leagues. His first MLB home run was in 1997.

Joining the Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 18, 1997, the Arizona Diamondbacks chose García in the 1997 Major League Baseball expansion draft. This draft helps new teams pick players from other teams. He became the starting right fielder for the Diamondbacks in their very first season.

García hit the second home run in the team's history. This happened in their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Playing for the Detroit Tigers

After only one season in Arizona, García was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He was traded for another player named Luis Gonzalez.

On May 28, 1999, García hit a home run over the roof of Tiger Stadium. Only 34 players in MLB history had done this before him. He played one full season with the Tigers. In June 2000, he was sent to the Baltimore Orioles. He later played for their Triple-A team, the Rochester Red Wings, before being released.

Time with the Cleveland Indians

García signed with the Cleveland Indians for the 2001 season. He hit 31 home runs for their Triple-A team, the Buffalo Bisons. He joined the Indians in September and played well, hitting .311 with five home runs in a short time.

The Indians released García in 2002. He then joined the New York Yankees briefly. Later that year, he rejoined the Indians. He had a great season, hitting 16 home runs and 52 RBIs with a .299 batting average in 51 games.

Because of his good performance, García was the starting right fielder for Cleveland in 2003. But his batting average dropped, and he struggled in the outfield. He lost his starting job and was later traded back to the Yankees.

Return to the New York Yankees

García's performance improved a lot when he rejoined the New York Yankees. He batted .305 in 52 games. He also played much better defense, making only two errors.

He is often remembered for two moments during the 2003 American League Championship Series. This was a big playoff series against the Boston Red Sox. In one game, after a hit by Hideki Matsui gave the Yankees a lead, García was hit by a pitch from Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martínez. This led to a heated discussion between the teams.

Later in the same game, García went into the bullpen to help his teammate Jeff Nelson during an argument.

Moving to the New York Mets

In 2004, García moved to the New York Mets. He was later traded to the Baltimore Orioles in July. The Orioles released him in August 2004.

Playing Baseball Around the World

After his time in Major League Baseball, García played in other countries.

He spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball League. He had a combined batting average of .281 with 44 home runs and 97 RBIs. He learned to be more patient at the plate, which helped him in Japan. In August 2005, he hit three home runs in two games in a row, a rare achievement in Japanese baseball.

In 2007, García played for the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League. He had an amazing season, batting .374 with 20 home runs. He helped his team win a national championship.

From 2008 to 2010, García played for the Lotte Giants in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in South Korea. He was a fan favorite in Busan. In 2008, he batted .283 with 30 home runs and led the league with 111 RBIs. He won the KBO League Golden Glove Award as an outfielder that year. He continued to hit many home runs each season with the Giants.

In 2011, he returned to the Sultanes de Monterrey in Mexico. Later that year, he went back to South Korea to play for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO. He played for them until the end of the season.

In 2012, he played again for the Sultanes de Monterrey and also for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo in Mexico.

Over his ten seasons in Major League Baseball, Karim García had a .241 batting average. He hit 66 home runs and had 212 RBIs in 488 games.

Playing for His Country

Karim García proudly represented his home country, Mexico, as an outfielder. He played for the Mexico national baseball team in the World Baseball Classic tournaments in 2006, 2009, and 2013.

Images for kids

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  García at Los Pinos with the Tigres de Quintana Roo in 2013

See also

In Spanish: Karim García para niños