Adolis García is one of Cuba’s most famous baseball players. He currently plays for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman or outfielder. Before playing in the MLB, Adolis Garcia played in Cuba’s National Baseball Series from 2004 to 2011. In this post, we will find out more about Adolis Garcia. Let’s get started.
Adolis Garcia: All You Need To Know
How did Adolis Garcia start his baseball career?
Adolis García played in the Cuban National Baseball Series from 2004 until the 2008 – 2009 season with the Tigres de Ciego de Avila.
Cuba
With the Cuban baseball team, he played in the World Port Tournament in 2009 and managed to be the best hitter in the competition with 15 hits in 30 at-bats.
Venezuela
He defected from Cuba in January 2011 to play with the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, whom he accompanied to the 2012 Caribbean Series. His performances with Magallanes attracted the attention of some Major League clubs, and in May 2012, at the age of 26, he signed a $400,000 contract with the New York Yankees. García would continue to play in the minor leagues with the Tampa Bay Yankees from 2012 to 2014 in the minor leagues.
Big MLB contract
After three years in the minor leagues, García was released on April 1, 2015, but signed a contract three days later with the Atlanta Braves, making his debut on May 19 against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Adolis Garcia: A Baseball Journeyman
At the beginning of the 2023 season, very few were betting on the Texas Rangers to reach the World Series despite having good elements, much less that the Cuban Adolis García was a reference in definitive phases on his way to returning to a Fall Classic after 12 years to get his first championship in MLB.
In the not-so-distant 2016, the outfielder was part of the Tigres del Ciego de Ávila, who represented Cuba in the Caribbean Series in Santo Domingo. Later, he tried his luck in Japanese baseball before making the crucial decision to become a dropout to reach the Major Leagues.
“I really liked visiting Japan and playing there. I think that at that moment, I was already thinking of playing in the Major Leagues from Cuba. I think it was one of the dreams I had. That’s how I decided,” Adolis García said in an interview with MLB Network. In the postseason, he had seven home runs and 20 RBIs, a franchise record and leader of the Playoffs.
After returning from Asia and spending time as a refugee in the Dominican Republic, the Cuban was signed in 2017 by the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played 17 games and went unnoticed.
“I, personally, like many others, have gone through many things. Leaving our country, coming with a dream, trying to succeed here. I couldn’t achieve it early in my career, but I think I didn’t give up and today it’s worth it, for everything that’s happening,” the player added.
Texas Rangers
It was not until 2020, the year of the short season as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was traded to the Texas Rangers, where he was even in the minor leagues before making the jump to the first team in 2021, where he recorded 141 hits and 31 home runs, in addition to driving in 90 runs.
By 2023, the Cuban established himself as the starter in right field to the point of gaining notoriety as the games went by, especially on offense, after adding 39 home runs, the seventh best record in MLB (tied with Mookie Betts). He participated in the Home Run Derby despite losing in the first round against Randy Arozarena and reached 108 RBIs, the eighth best in the Major Leagues.
Adolis Garcia: A Playoffs Beast
The rest, as they say, is history; The postseason has been his playground, he was named Most Valuable Player with his dominant performance in the American League Championship Series, and he was the main commander of his powerful offense to try to lead the Rangers to win their first World Series.
Adolis Garcia vs Randy Arozarena: A Cuban Civil War
This year’s Home Run Derby will have a special clash with the duel between Randy Arozarena and Adolis García, two baseball players originally from Cuba who have a unique bond.
The Tampa Bay Rays outfielder was American League Rookie of the Year in 2021 but said he would share the award with his friend from the Texas Rangers, who finished fourth in that year’s voting.
It was one of the many displays of affection between two baseball players who have played since they started in Cuba, shared rooms in the St. Louis Cardinals spring training in 2017 and have not stopped maintaining closeness and brotherhood.
“Adolis is like my brother, so much so that I named him my daughter’s godfather,” Arozarena said in statements reported by MLB.com. “I think God intentionally put us on the same team, because we were even roommates together after signing. Both he and I have given each other a lot of advice. We give each other advice, and I am happy that when he achieves something, he is equally happy when I achieve things.”
“The funny thing is, even though this sport is a one-on-one competition, we’re actually giving each other advice as well. But being able to see him now… in the past, he stayed as a free agent. He even lost his job during the pandemic. Seeing him grow in that aspect has been very nice.”
In addition, the two coincide in one of the most special rewards for players, such as the MLB All-Star Week, with the second participation in the mid-season classic and the first for Arozarena. Meeting each other in the quarterfinals of the Home Run Derby is a special feeling for the naturalized Mexican.
The funny thing is, even though this sport is a one-on-one competition, we’re actually giving each other advice as well. But being able to see him now… in the past, he stayed as a free agent. He even lost his job during the pandemic. Seeing him grow in that aspect has been very nice.”
In addition, the two coincide in one of the most special rewards for players, such as the MLB All-Star Week, with the second participation in the mid-season classic and the first for Arozarena. Meeting each other in the quarterfinals of the Home Run Derby is a special feeling for the naturalized Mexican.
“I feel very happy to be able to compete with him. Obviously, we are very good friends. We talk to each other a lot. Actually, word hadn’t spread that he was going to participate, still in public, but he had told me that he was going to compete. So I replied: ‘I hope we don’t go against each other”, concluded Garcia.
