A few weeks ago, I ordered some lucky bags from an online sports card shop. In a lucky bag, there’s a hit and a numbered card. After opening the first lucky bag, I saw an interesting card.
It’s a 2001 AL ERA Champ card from the 2003 Donruss. On the front, it was a photo of Freddy Garcia, who was in the Mariners uniform. Moreover, the good thing is that the card is numbered to 100. While seeing this card, I remember that I saw him pitch in Asia. Furthermore, he used to win the AL ERA title and I began to think about his career with the Mariners.
Firstly, no one will ignore the 2001 season. It was a fantastic season for the Mariners and was a great season for Garcia. In 2001, Garcia made 34 starts, posting a 3.05 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 238.2 innings. A 3.05 ERA was the lowest in the AL and ranked 5th in the majors. And he got 18 wins in that season.
Meanwhile, let’s take a look at his career with the Mariners. Garcia made his MLB debut in the Mariners uniform in 1999. He pitched for the Mariners from 1999 to 2003. In those 6 seasons, he made 169 starts and 1 relief appearance. Garcia tossed 1096.1 innings with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Furthermore, he got 76 wins and threw 819 strikeouts.
So, what do those numbers mean to the Mariners?
Garcia’s 76 wins ranked 4th in the Mariners franchise history. In franchise history, 3 pitchers each earned 100+ wins. Felix Hernandez pitched for the Mariners for 15 years and got 169 wins. Moreover, Jamie Moyer played 25 seasons in the majors with 269 wins. He pitched 11 seasons for the Mariners and earned 145 wins. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson got 303 wins in his career. He spent 10 seasons with the Mariners and had 130 wins.
Also, let’s look at the strikeout leaders. Freddy Garcia’s 819 strikeouts ranked 6th in the Mariners franchise history. In team history, only 2 players threw 2000+ strikeouts. Felix Hernandez struck out 2524 batters in his career. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson threw 2162 strikeouts when he wore the Mariners uniform. Jamie Moyer threw 1239 strikeouts and Mark Langston spent 6 seasons with the Mariners, striking out 1000+ batters.
Finally, let’s take a look at the earned run average. Freddy Garcia owned a 3.89 ERA while playing for the Mariners. A 3.89 ERA ranked 10th in franchise history. Interestingly, 4 pitchers each posted a 3.42 ERA in Mariners history. It’s not a surprise to see Felix Hernandez and Randy Johnson on the leaderboard. At the same time, Iwakuma tossed 800+ innings for the Mariners with a 3.42 ERA. James Paxton threw 500+ innings for the Mariners and had a 3.42 ERA as well. Furthermore, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are 2 important pitchers in the Mariners rotation. Kirby now has 3.43 ERA in his career and Gilbert’s ERA is 3.60.
Looking back at Freddy Garcia’s career, he was selected to the All-Star game twice. Both times were in the Mariners uniform. His time with the Mariners was certainly memorable. He won the AL ERA title in 2001. In Mariners history, the most recent AL ERA title winner was Felix Hernandez, who finished the 2014 season with a 2.14 ERA. As we can see, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are on the top 10 on the ERA leaderboard in the Mariners history, is it possible to see one of them win the AL ERA title in the coming seasons?
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