Ryan Garko

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**Ryan Garko**

Cleveland Indians — No. 25
First baseman
Born: January 2, 1981 (1981-01-02) (age 27) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 18, 2005 for the Cleveland Indians
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Batting average	.290
Home runs	28
Runs batted in	106
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2005–present)

Ryan Francis Garko (born January 2, 1981, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.

1 Baseball career
- 1.1 2007 American League Championship Controversy
2 Personal Life
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Baseball career

Garko graduated from Servite High School in 1999 with a 4.0 grade point average alongside Indians teammate Ben Francisco. He is also a graduate of Stanford University, and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Garko was selected as a catcher by Cleveland in the 3rd round (78th overall) of the 2003 amateur draft. After displaying superb batting skills at every level of the minors, Garko made his major-league debut as a pinch-hitter on September 18, 2005 against the Kansas City Royals. He struck out in his only at-bat.

Garko was back in Cleveland the next season, called up on June 30, 2006. He earned his first major league hit and RBI before returning to the Indians' AAA minor league affiliate Buffalo Bisons. He was called up to Cleveland again on August 8 and played in the majority of the remaining games for the Indians, primarily at first base and often hitting in the clean-up (fourth) position in the batting order. He was a catcher in college and the minor leagues, but the Indians already have an All-Star at that position in Víctor Martínez and a capable back-up in Kelly Shoppach. Garko finished 2006 with a .292 batting average, 7 home runs and 45 RBI in just 50 games.

Garko was considered one of the Indians' top hitting prospects, but was not slated to play every day for Cleveland in 2007. He made the team's 25-man roster out of spring training and they planned for him to split time at first base with Casey Blake and Martinez and at DH with Travis Hafner. However, Garko's playing time increased when the Indians first placed rookie third baseman Andy Marte on the 15-day disabled list April 23. With Blake filling in for Marte at third, Garko became their primary first baseman. When Marte was sent to the minors on May 28, Garko's regular playing time was cemented.

In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage (.993) of all AL first basemen who qualified as a league leader^[1], though several other AL first basemen with 40 or more games at first had a lower fielding percentage.^[2]

[edit] 2007 American League Championship Controversy

During the sixth game of the 2007 American League Championship series, Fox Sports reporter Chris Myers reported that a supposed quote from Ryan Garko was taped to the locker room door of the Boston Red Sox. The quote guaranteed an Indians win. Myers correctly reported the quote as posted was spurious^[3]. It was a blending of the words of an opinion columnist for the Elyria Chronicle Telegram with a real quote from Garko about clinching the 2007 American League Division Series^[4] Despite its inaccuracy, the quote rankled Red Sox fans.

[edit] Personal Life

Garko is a big fan of Jim Rome and his widely popular radio program. He is a long-time listener and made his jungle debut earlier this season. Has been on the show twice since, including his trip in studio with teammates Ben Francisco, Joe Borowski and C.C. Sabathia. Garko listed Alex Rodriguez, Travis Hafner and Jon Stewart as the three people he'd most want to trade places with.

He is also a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Travis Hafner bought him a "ghastly" pair of purple and gold Lakers shoes during 08 Spring Training^[5]. He likes to listen to music and to read.^[6]