Seattle Mariners Top Ten Starting Pitchers in Franchise History

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7. Freddy Garcia

Freddy Garcia was signed by the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent.  He was acquired by Seattle in a trade that no Mariners fan liked.  The Randy Johnson trade to the Houston Astros.  But the Chief would go on to be a solid pitcher for the Seattle Mariners from 1999 to 2004.

The 6-foot-4 Venezuelan hurler won 76 games and lost 50 for the Mariners in five and a half seasons for a .603 winning percentage. The right hander pitched 1096.1 innings during his Mariners career.  He had a 3.89 ERA and 1.299 WHIP with a 2.11 strikeout to walk ratio over that span.  His best season for the Mariners was in 2001 when he won 18 games and lost six with four complete games and three shutouts.  The Chief achieved an 18.8 in pitcher WAR.

Freddy Garcia’s career with the Mariners was a good one.   His pitcher WAR ranks fifth all-time with the club.  He is fourth all-time in wins for the Mariners.  He is seventh in ERA, and ninth in WHIP and strikeout to walk ratio.  He is sixth in both strikeouts and total innings pitched.

The Chief placed second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1999.  He made two All-Star games with the Mariners in 2001 and 2002.  He also pitched on the last two post season teams that the Mariners had in 2000 and 2001.  Like Mike Moore, he went on to win a World Series with the next team he went to.  He pitched and earned the win in game four of the 2005 World Series after pitching seven scoreless innings.

Aside from his pitching, the Chief made another indirect yet royal contribution to the Mariners.  One of the reasons the King, Felix Hernandez, chose the Mariners is because his idol, fellow Venezuelan pitcher Freddy Garcia, was with the Mariners at the time.

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