Books and articles about Steve Garvey

The most durable player of his era, Garvey played a NL-record 1,207 consecutive games. Originally a third baseman with a suspect arm, he became part of baseball's longest-running infield when he moved to first base. Ron Cey took over at third, and they flanked Davey Lopes and Bill Russell from 1973 to 1981.

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Garvey projected his Mr. Clean image to the nation in a TV interview before the 1974 World Series when he explained that "I always try to act as though there is a little boy or a little girl around, and I try never to do anything that would give them a bad example." His nickname, Senator, referred to his post-baseball political aspirations.

Garvey exploded as a NL star in 1974. He was elected to the All-Star team as a write-in candidate that year, and was voted MVP of the game. He followed this up by winning the NL MVP award, capping a nearly perfect season for the man whose father used to drive the Dodgers' bus at Vero Beach during spring training.

Garvey's name would not be left off the All-Star ballot again, and he was elected as a starter the next six years. In 1978 he became the first player to receive more than four million All-Star votes, and he was named MVP of the game that year as well. In ten All-Star Games he hit .393, and his slugging average of .955 is the highest of any player with more than 20 at-bats.

One of the great clutch players of his time, he retired with the NLCS career records for HR (8) and RBI (24) and was named LCS MVP in 1978 and 1984. He also hit .368 in the 1981 divisional series.

The winner of four Gold Gloves, Garvey retired with a .996 fielding average. In 1977 he hit a Los Angeles Dodgers-record 33 HR, the only time in a seven-year period when he failed to better .300 and 200 hits. With Cey, Reggie Smith, and Dusty Baker, Garvey was one of a record four Dodgers to hit 30 homers that year. He led the NL in hits twice and games played six times.

A tremendous Los Angeles favorite who had a junior high school named after him while still an active player, Garvey traumatized fans by signing with the Padres as a free agent in December 1982. On his first trip to Los Angeles as a Padre, he took out a full-page newspaper ad thanking fans for their past support. By the end of his career, lacking protection in the Padres' lineup, Garvey's unwillingness to take bases on balls and a parallel propensity for chasing bad pitches had taken their toll on his yearly statistics. Following the expiration of his five-year contract with San Diego, he discussed returning to the Dodgers, but an arm injury caused him to retire.

Garvey's Mr. Clean image was tarnished two years after his retirement, when he admitted fathering the children of different women. He had earlier suffered the embarassment of a tell-all book by his ex-wife Cyndy. (TG)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » June 6, 1968: Tim Foli is the top choice in the regular phase of the free-agent draft. The A's take Pete Broberg with the 2nd pick, but he opts to attend Dartmouth instead. Cecil Cooper lasts until the 27th round. The big winners are the Dodgers, who, in the January draft and the regular and secondary June drafts pick 71 players, 14 players of whom end up in the ML. Among them: Davey Lopes, Geoff Zahn, Bill Buckner, Joe Ferguson, Tom Paciorek, Bobby Valentine, Steve Garvey, and Ron Cey. » July 23, 1974: The National League triumphs in the All-Star Game at Pittsburgh, winning 7–2. Write-in choice Dodger 1B Steve Garvey is the game's MVP. » October 9, 1974: Los Angeles advances to the World Series with a 12–1 win over the Bucs. Steve Garvey has two singles and two doubles, and scores four runs as Don Sutton wins his 2nd LCS game and 11th in a row. » November 13, 1974: The Dodgers Steve Garvey wins the National League MVP Award with a .312 BA, 21 home runs, and 111 RBI. » September 3, 1975: After missing two games because of the flu, Dodger Steve Garvey returns to the lineup in a 13–2 loss to the Reds, launching a National League record streak of 1,207 consecutive games. The Reds score 10 runs in the 4th inning to ice the game: on the 2nd, they scored seven in the 5th to beat the Padres, 10–4. » August 28, 1977: Steve Garvey has a career game with five extra-base hits, five runs, and five RBI, as the Dodgers blast the Cardinals 11–0. Garvey's barrage includes three doubles and two home runs. » October 12, 1977: home runs by Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, Reggie Smith, and Steve Garvey lead the Dodgers to a 6–1 win in game two of the World Series. Burt Hooton goes the distance, allowing just five hits. » July 11, 1978: At San Diego, the National League wins another All-Star Game 7–3. Steve Garvey singles and triples to earn the game's MVP trophy. Vida Blue starts for the NL, the first pitcher to start for both leagues. Blue also started in 1971 and 1975 for the American League. » August 15, 1978: The Phils drop their 4th in a row, losing to the Dodgers, 5–2. The loss cuts the Phils' lead to two games as the Cubs beat the Reds and Tom Seaver in an afternoon contest. After Reggie Smith had driven in the game-winner the previous two nights, it is Steve Garvey's turn. His triple in the 8th off Tug McGraw, with the bases loaded breaks a 2–2 tie. » August 20, 1978: Los Angeles beats New York 5–4 at Shea Stadium, but the real hitting occurs before the game when Dodgers Don Sutton and Steve Garvey engage in a clubhouse wrestling match. The two had been feuding for a long time, but newspaper remarks by Sutton about Garvey's All-American image sparked the brawl. » October 4, 1978: Steve Garvey smashes two home runs and a triple to pace the Dodgers to a 9–5 win over the Phillies in the opener of the NLCS. Davey Lopes and Steve Yeager also homer at the Vet. » November 15, 1978: The Pirates Dave Parker wins the National League MVP Award, 320-194 over the Dodgers Steve Garvey. Parker had 30 home runs, 117 RBI, and league-leading figures in batting (.334), slugging (.585), and total bases (340). » July 20, 1979: At Los Angeles, Steve Garvey saves a defeat for the Dodgers by belting a 2-run homer in the 10th to tie, and another 2-run homer in the 11th by Bill Russell wins it, 6–5, over the Expos. Montreal takes the lead in the 11th when Rodney Scott drives in a run with his 5th straight hit. Dave Patterson wins his first ML game, while Manny Mota has a pinch single for the 139 pinch hit of his career. » September 19, 1980: The Reds light up Jerry Reuss (17-6) for eight runs in two innings, en route to a 10–7 win over the Dodgers. Reuss serves up a grand slam to Johnny Bench, the 9th slam off him this year, a National League record. Steve Garvey and Ron Cey solo for the Dodgers. » October 4, 1980: The Dodgers break a 1–1 tie on a 4th inning home run from Steve Garvey to beat the Astros 2–1. Loser Nolan Ryan goes 11–10, while Jerry Reuss wins his 18th. Houston now leads by one game with one to play. » October 17, 1981: Tied 1–1 going into the 8th, Steve Garvey's 2-run homer puts LA ahead in what will be a 7–1 victory over the Expos. The series is now tied 2–2. » February 8, 1982: The Dodgers break up the longest-playing infield unit in ML history by trading veteran 2B Davey Lopes to the A's for minor-leaguer Lance Hudson. Lopes, 1B Steve Garvey, 3B Ron Cey, and SS Bill Russell had been the Dodgers' starting infield since 1974. » June 7, 1982: Steve Garvey plays in his 1,000th consecutive game and goes 0-for-4 in a 4–3 loss to the Braves. Garvey's streak is the 5th longest in ML history. » December 21, 1982: Free-agent 1B Steve Garvey signs a 5-year contract with the San Diego Padres. » April 16, 1983: Padres 1B Steve Garvey plays in his 1,118th consecutive game, breaking Billy Williams' National League record. Garvey goes 2-for-4 in an 8–5 Padres loss at Los Angeles. » October 6, 1984: Steve Garvey's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th inning gives San Diego a 7–5 win over Chicago and evens the NLCS at 2–2. » October 10, 1987: Jeffrey Leonard sets a playoff record with a home run in his 4th consecutive game, sparking the Giants to a 4–2 win over the Cardinals that evens the NLCS at two games apiece. Leonard's four home runs tie the record for most home runs in one LCS shared by Bob Robertson and Steve Garvey. » January 13, 1988: Steve Garvey retires. He hit just .211 last season and was not offered a new contract by the Padres. » August 17, 1989: Orioles SS Cal Ripken plays in his 1,208th consecutive game to move past Steve Garvey into 3rd place on the all–time list. He goes 3-for-5 with a home run to help Baltimore to an 11–6 win over Toronto. » August 18, 1989: In a 9–2 Toronto win, Baltimore SS Cal Ripken plays in his 1,208th consecutive game, passing Steve Garvey for the 3rd longest streak in ML history, George Bell leads Toronto with two singles, a double and a home run. » April 29, 1999: Down 6–1, the Mariners score 11 runs in the 5th inning and six more in the 6th on the way to a 22–6 pasting of Detroit. Ken Griffey Jr. hits two home runs and drives in six in the inning. Tiger P Mel Rojas is pounded for eight hits and 11 earned runs in one and 2/3 innings of relief. It is the first time in 40 years that Detroit has given up 11 runs in a frame. By not committing an error in the contest, Mariner 1B David Segui becomes baseball's all–time leader in fielding percentage among first basemen (1,000 games minimum), moving slightly ahead of Steve Garvey.