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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