Ryan Garko Signs with Samsung - 韓國職棒

The once promising bat of Ryan Garko is heading to the KBO to play
baseball with the Samsung Lions. Garko signed a one year contract
for $300,000, just below minimum wage if he could land a job in the
major leagues.

In 2009 Garko was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the San
Francisco Giants to generate some offense. After he failed to do
that, hitting only .235 in 40 games the Giants released him. He
signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2010, a team begging for offense,
but they released him during spring training. The Texas Rangers
picked him up, but after 15 games he was busted down to AAA when his
average sunk to .091.

Garko shows some promise. Before his failures with the two World
Series teams he did have some good years with the Cleveland Indians,
hitting 21 homeruns in 2007 and driving in 90 runs in 2008. After
being demoted by the Rangers in 2010 he still couldn’t get on track
in AAA, hitting only .235 with 12 homeruns for Oklahoma City. The
Rangers did run through some first baseman last year before settling
on Mitch Moreland, so Garko could have had an opportunity at a World
Series appearance if he had showed some offensive production in 2009
with the Giants or this last year with the Rangers.

He was originally a catcher out of college, winning first team All
American honors for Stanford during his senior season. He shared the
Pac-10 player of the year award with Dustin Pedroia. The Indians
drafted him in the third round of the 2003 draft. By 2006 he had won
the starting first base job for the Cleveland Indians. He is not the
most fluid of first basemen so perhaps the Lions will use him in the
DH role. He has long past any ability to catch.

Source: myworldofbaseball

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