Garcia was part of the great Indian pitching staff that included Bob Feller, Early Wynn, and Bob Lemon. Signed in 1942, The Big Bear spent three years in the military. He went 14-5 in his rookie year (1949). The hard-throwing Californian of Mexican-Indian descent posted his second straight 20-win season in 1952, leading the AL in starts and hits allowed, and tying for most shutouts (6). He again tied for the shutout lead (5) with an AL best 2.64 ERA in 1954 and was 19-8 as Cleveland set an AL record with 111 wins and ended the Yankees’ pennant string at five. Garcia lost Game Three of the World Series in which Giants routed the Indians in four straight.
The championship season was Garcia’s last good campaign. After three subpar years, he hurt his back in 1958. Cut and resigned, he won three final games in 1959. He left among the Indians’ top ten all-time in wins, losses, games pitched, shutouts, winning percentage, and strikeouts.
