Steve Garvey

Garvey credits Spartan head football coach Duffy Daugherty encouraging him to be a multi-sport athlete in his choosing MSU.[4] He recorded 30 tackles and earned a letter as a defensive back in 1967.[5] His first at-bat in a Spartan uniform resulted in a grand-slam home run, with the ball landing in the Red Cedar River.[6] His baseball jersey number 10 was retired from Michigan State University in 2014,[7] he was named Michigan State Baseball Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2009,[8] and he was inducted into the Michigan State University Hall of Fame in 2010.[5] Garvey was featured in the LA Times as one of the three Spartan athletes that have helped Los Angeles professional sports teams win a combined seven world championships.[9]

Steve Garvey at bat in the mid-1970s against Cincinnati, in Dodger Stadium

Garvey was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the 1968 MLB draft (June secondary phase).[1] He made his Major League debut on September 1, 1969 at the age of 20.[1] He appeared in the 7th inning to pinch hit for Ray Lamb. He struck out in his one appearance at the plate. [10] He had two more plate appearances in 1969, all as a pinch hitter, and recorded his first hit on September 10, off Denny Lemaster of the Houston Astros. He played third base for the Dodgers in 1970 and hit his first home run on July 21, 1970, off Carl Morton of the Montreal Expos. He moved to first base in 1973 after the retirement of Wes Parker.

Garvey was part of one of the most enduring infields in baseball history[11] along with third baseman Ron Cey, shortstop Bill Russell and second baseman Davey Lopes. The four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years.

Garvey is one of only two players to have started an All-Star Game as a write-in vote, doing so in 1974. That year he won the NL MVP award, and had the first of six 200-hit seasons. Only 16 players in all of Major League Baseball history have had six or more 200 hit seasons (as of the end of 2017).

In the 1978 National League Championship Series, which the Dodgers won over the Philadelphia Phillies, Garvey hit four home runs, and added a triple for five extra base hits, both marks tying Bob Robertson's 1971 NLCS record and earning him the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award; Jeffrey Leonard would tie the NLCS home run record in the 1987 NLCS.

With the Dodgers, Garvey played in 1,727 games over 14 seasons and hit .301 with 211 homers and 992 RBI.[1] He was selected to eight All-Star Games, and won the All-Star Game MVP Award for the 1974 and 1978 games.[1] He also won the 1981 Roberto Clemente Award, finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP Award voting five times and won four straight Gold Glove Awards from 1974–1977.

In December 1982 Garvey signed with the Padres for $6.6 million over five years in what some felt was a "masterstroke" to General Manager Jack McKeon's effort to rebuild the team.[12] Though San Diego had vastly outbid the Dodgers, McKeon particularly noted Garvey's value in providing a role model for younger players.[13] Additionally, Garvey's "box office appeal"—his impending departure from the Dodgers provoked some Girl Scouts to picket the stadium—helped San Diego increase its season ticket sales by 6,000 seats in Garvey's first year.[14] Sports Illustrated ranked the signing as the 15th best free agent signing ever as of 2008.[15]

His first season in San Diego allowed him to break the National League's record for consecutive games played, a feat that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated as baseball's "Iron Man".[16] In an unusual homecoming, Garvey tied the record in his first appearance back at Dodger Stadium in Padre brown.[17][18] For breaking the record, he was named the National League Player of the Week. He played in 100 games while having 114 hits, 22 doubles, 14 home runs and 59 RBIs while batting for .294 with a .344 OBP and .802 OPS. He had 29 walks to 39 strikeouts. In fielding, he played 867.2 innings at first base, the lowest at the position since 1973 when he played 647.2 innings. He made 888 putouts, 49 assists, six errors and 69 double plays for a .994 fielding percentage.

It was Garvey's second season in San Diego, however, that would provide his highlight in a Padres uniform. Led by Garvey, winning his second National League Championship Series MVP award, the Padres won their first National League pennant over the Chicago Cubs in 1984.[19] Game 4, "the best game of the series, and one of the best games in memory", provided a particularly notable effort by Garvey.[19] His hot bat provided excellent insurance for the top of the order, including future Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who drew an intentional walk that Garvey converted into one of his four crucial RBI.[19] After supplying critical hits in the third, fifth, and seventh innings, Garvey capped off his efforts with a two-run walk-off home run off future all-time saves leader Lee Smith in the ninth inning.[19] As he rounded third base, Garvey, who after the game would be compared by teammates to fictional baseball hero Roy Hobbs, was met by fellow Padres who later carried him off the field in celebration.[19] Following the 7–5 Padres victory, grateful fans thronged against stadium barricades chanting Garvey's name.[19] Garvey, about to play in his fifth World Series, called the experience "the greatest playoffs I've ever seen."[19]

Garvey made his final appearance in a game on May 23, 1987, pinch-hitting for Lance McCullers in the ninth inning. He hit a flyout in his one appearance at the plate. [20]