Ryan Garko was always great hitter.
- He hit .350/.446/.591 during his four years at Stanford–including .380 his senior season. Despite his terrible glove, the Indians took him in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft.
- In 2004 he hit .330/.412/.565 between three levels, and was the Indians MiLB Player of the Year.
- He made the majors in 2005, and over the next seasons would hit .275/.347/.434 in the big leagues. He would retire with an OPS+ of 106.
The problem with Garko, from his time in college through his major league career, was that he has a terrible glove. He was hard to hide in a line-up. He was traded away in 2009 (for LHP Scott Barnes) and would be out of the big leagues only a couple of seasons later.
Still, he had a nice little career he should be proud of. Six years in the big leagues and retiring with an OPS+ north of 100 counts for something.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | AB | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 24 | CLE | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 |
| 2006 | 25 | CLE | AL | 185 | 7 | 45 | 14 | 37 | .292 | .359 | .470 | .829 | 114 |
| 2007 | 26 | CLE | AL | 484 | 21 | 61 | 34 | 94 | .289 | .359 | .483 | .842 | 119 |
| 2008 | 27 | CLE | AL | 495 | 14 | 90 | 45 | 86 | .273 | .346 | .404 | .750 | 101 |
| 2009 | 28 | TOT | MLB | 354 | 13 | 51 | 29 | 50 | .268 | .344 | .421 | .765 | 103 |
| 2010 | 29 | TEX | AL | 33 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | .091 | .167 | .091 | .258 | -29 |
| 6 Yr | 6 Yr | 6 Yr | 6 Yr | 1552 | 55 | 250 | 125 | 272 | .275 | .347 | .434 | .781 | 106 |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 543 | 19 | 87 | 44 | 95 | .275 | .347 | .434 | .781 | 106 |