Steve Garvey
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Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, and current Southern California businessman.
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[edit] Playing career
A native-born Tampan, Garvey played his entire career in the National League West for two teams; the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969-82) and the San Diego Padres (1983-87). He batted right and threw right. In a 19-year career, Garvey was a .294 hitter with 272 home runs and 1308 RBI in 2332 games played.
[edit] Post-baseball career
Since 1988, he has been running Garvey Communications, mainly involved in television production, including infomercials. He is also the host of "Baseball's Greatest Games." In addition he is hired out to do motivational speaking, mainly for corporations.
[edit] Personal
Steve Garvey is currently married to the former Candace Henderson. For the last five years he and his wife resided in Kamas, Utah; however, they recently moved back to the Southern California area, and reside in Sun Valley. Candace is a former talk show host, who co-hosted The Home and Family Show in the 1990s with Chuck Woolery on The Family Channel (now ABC Family). Candace was a key witness for the prosecution in the "trial of the century" of O.J. Simpson. Steve proposed to Candace on the field just before the start of the 1989 Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals. Steve commutes to Los Angeles during the MLB season where he works as a greeter for the Los Angeles Dodgers VIP season ticket holders.
[edit] Controversy
Immediately following the end of his playing career, Garvey's public image was tarnished when he admitted fathering two children by two women out of wedlock. [1] More recently, Garvey has been accused of failing to pay a number of personal and professional debts, including child support. [2]
[edit] Career highlights
- 10-time All-Star (1974-81, 1984-85)
- Twice National League Championship Series MVP (1978, 1984)
- National League Most Valuable Player (1974)
- Won Roberto Clemente Award (1981)
- Won Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1984)
- 4-time Gold Glove Award (1974-77)
- Twice All-Star Game MVP (1974, 1978)
- 6-time led league in games played (1977-78, 1980-82, 1985)
- Twice led league in hits (1978, 1980)
- Led league in sacrifice flies (1984)
- 6-times collected 200 or more hits (1974-76, 1978-80)
- 7-times hit 30 or more doubles (1974-76, 1978-79, 1982, 1985)
- 5-times drove in 100 or more runs (1974, 1977-80)
- 7-times hit .300 or more (1973-76, 1978-80)
- 6-times had 300 or more total bases (1974-75, 1977-80)
- Shares Padres single season record for Games Played (162 in 1985)
- 2,332 Games (86th All-Time)
- 8,835 At Bats (70th All-Time)
- 2,599 Hits (70th All-Time)
- 3,941 Total Bases (78th All-Time)
- 440 Doubles (91st All-Time)
- 1,308 RBI (89th All-Time)
- 1,844 Singles (70th All-Time)
- 90 Sacrifice Flies (50th All-Time)
- 113 Intentional Walks (81st All-Time)
[edit] Facts
- Garvey set a National League record with 1207 consecutive games played, from September 3, 1975, to July 29, 1983. The streak ended when he broke his thumb in a collision at home plate against the Atlanta Braves.
- In the 1978 National League Championship Series, Garvey hit four home runs, tying Bob Robertson's NLCS record (1971). Jeffrey Leonard would hit four in the 1987 NLCS.
- On his first trip to Los Angeles as a Padre, he took out a full-page newspaper ad thanking fans for their past support.
- On October 6, 1984, during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Garvey hit a two-run walk-off home run off of Lee Smith in the 9th inning to give the Padres a 7 to 5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The next day, the Padres won the National League pennant for the first time in franchise history.
- In 1981, at a point in his career when it looked like he would one day rank among the game's all-time greats, Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
- From 1993-1998, Garvey served as a color commentator for CBS' coverage of the College World Series.
- The 1990 edition of the annual Steve Garvey's Celebrity Billfishing Tournament was a subject of ESPN Classic's comedy series Cheap Seats. The same year's Steve Garvey Celebrity Skiing special would also be featured in another episode which aired in July 2006, and featured a cameo by Michael Floorwax, a comedian and current Denver morning show host who appeared in both specials.
- Garvey makes an appearance, as a coach, in the 2005 film The Sandlot 2.
- Garvey, along with figure skater Oksana Baiul and skier Jonny Moseley, is a judge on the ABC reality show Master of Champions.
- Garvey's jersey #6, worn when he was both a Padre and Dodger is retired by the Padres. His number 6 was displayed at the site of his 1984 NLCS home run in right field at Qualcomm Stadium.
- The bumper sticker "Steve Garvey is not my Padre" became popular in the 1980s after it was reported that Garvey fathered two children out of wedlock with two different women.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Steve Garvey.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Baseball Library - biography and career highlights
- The Baseball Page - profile and career analysis
- Garvey's record-breaking 1,118th cover @ Sports Illustrated (25 April 1983)
- The Diamond Angle (article), By Ken Haag with James Floto and David Marasco; should Garvey be in the Hall of Fame
- Steve Garvey Los Angeles Dodgers Online
Preceded by Bobby Bonds |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1974 |
Succeeded by Jon Matlack & Bill Madlock |
Preceded by Pete Rose |
National League Most Valuable Player 1974 |
Succeeded by Joe Morgan |
Preceded by Joe Morgan |
National League Player of the Month September 1976 |
Succeeded by Ron Cey |
Preceded by Don Sutton |
Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player 1978 |
Succeeded by Dave Parker |
Preceded by Dusty Baker |
National League Championship Series MVP 1978 |
Succeeded by Willie Stargell |
Preceded by Gary Matthews |
National League Championship Series MVP 1984 |
Succeeded by Ozzie Smith |
Preceded by Mike Schmidt |
Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1984 |
Succeeded by Dale Murphy |
Categories: NPOV disputes | Articles lacking sources from December 2006 | All articles lacking sources | 1948 births | Living people | Major league first basemen | Los Angeles Dodgers players | San Diego Padres players | National League All-Stars | Major league players from Florida | Gold Glove Award winners | Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs | Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | Michigan State University alumni | Major League Baseball announcers | People from Tampa | Irish-American sportspeople