Garber's corkscrew motion helped make him one of baseball's all-time leaders in saves, games pitched, and relief wins. He pitched in 249 games for Philadelphia, including a NL-high 71 in 1975, teaming with Tug McGraw for a great lefty-righty combination. Traded to the Braves on June 15, 1978 for Dick Ruthven, Gene set Atlanta records with 558 relief appearances and 141 saves. He also set club records with 56 games finished and 30 saves in 1982 as the Braves went to the playoffs and the bullpen won the Rolaids awards as the outstanding relief corps. The sidearmer ended Pete Rose's 44-game hit streak of 1978 with a memorable strikeout. A crafty pitcher relying on a change-up among a variety of pitches, Garber was unable to post consistently outstanding seasons, doing best in 1978, 1982 and 1986. (ME)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»October 25, 1972: In a fairly even swap of talent, the Pirates trade P Gene Garber to the Royals for pitcher Jim Rooker. However, after a year Garber will move back to the NL.
»July 13, 1973:
Bobby Murcer hits three home runs, all off starter Gene Garber, and knocks in all the runs in the Yankees' 5–0 win over the Royals. Mel Stottlemyre scatters six hits in racking up his 39th shut out.
»August 6, 1977: The Phils nip the Dodgers, 1–0, as Gene Garber picks up his 2nd win in two days over the Dodgers.
»June 15, 1978: In a swap of pitchers, the Phillies send Gene Garber to the Braves for Dick Ruthven.
»August 1, 1978: The Braves trounce the Reds 16–4 and stop Pete Rose's record hitting streak at 44 games. Larry McWilliams and Gene Garber are the Atlanta pitchers. Rose goes 0-for-4 striking out in the 9th inning to end the game. Rose's streak is the 2nd longest in ML history. He goes 70-for-182 during the skein, an average of .385.
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