Remembering The Legend: Leury Garcia’s Complicated White Sox Legacy
It’s official. The White Sox have released Leury Garcia. It marks the end of an era. For the first time in ten years, the longest-tenured player on the White Sox will not be seen scattered in various positions across the diamond on 35th and Shields.
For most fans, this is a joyous occasion. It was clearly time to move on. Garcia slashed just .210/.233/.267 in 2022. By some metrics, he was the worst hitter in baseball. With a new manager Pedro Grifol in place, the message was clear. Results matter. Hanser Alberto, who was brought in to compete for the job at second base, hit .439 with a 1.257 OPS. Garcia hit .222 with a .680 OPS. The writing was on the wall.
“You can only ground out to second base so many times before they start to give away your job,” former White Sox pitcher and current television broadcaster Steve Stone quipped during an appearance on 670 The Score.
But just because things ended unceremoniously for Garcia doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate his contributions to the South Side. He could play six different positions, never excelling at any of them. The team even called upon him to pitch at one point. But whenever there was an injury, Garcia was there. Whenever the front office failed to address the lineup depth adequately, Garcia was there. When the team needed a big hit in Game 3 of the ALDS, Garcia was there.
He absorbed constant criticism from the media and the fan base. But he never once spoke a bad word about the organization or its fans. He was often misused, and it wasn’t his fault the White Sox overpaid him. Garcia is an excellent supplemental depth piece to have on a competitive roster when used correctly. The problem is the White Sox often asked far too much of him. The 2022 season was a perfect example.
Tony La Russa used him as an everyday player, placing him in 97 games. He batted him in the three-hole and even scolded a reporter in 2021 who correctly suggested that Garcia is a utility player.
In 2019, Rick Renteria asked him to be the team’s leadoff hitter, putting him in line to receive the most at-bats on the team. Was he qualified to do this? Absolutely not. But to Garcia’s credit, he performed admirably, hitting .279 with eight home runs.
Garcia’s ability to roll with the punches is one of the reasons he stayed on the South Side for so long. While fans despised him, coaches and teammates loved him.
“We call him The Legend,” starting pitcher Lance Lynn said after Garcia had just hit a walk-off home run against the Boston Red Sox on September 12th, 2021. “You’re looking at the guy that has the longest tenure around here. Great human being. Every day he comes in here with a smile on his face and works hard no matter if he’s in the lineup or not. Day in and day out, he’s doing the same thing, getting himself ready no matter what the situation is. Whenever we call on him, no matter what position, where in the lineup, or whatever we need from him, he’s there to do it with a smile on his face. You’ve got to have those guys if you want to beat a playoff-caliber team.”
Ever since he arrived in Chicago via a trade that sent Alex Rios packing, he was a positive clubhouse presence. Garcia went about his day with an infectious smile, eventually becoming a staple in the lineup. It was the reason he stuck around through three different manager changes.
He was sometimes frustrating to watch and drew the ire of an entire fan base. But he stuck with the White Sox through the dumpster fire that was 2016, the rebuild that ensued as and remained to reap the benefits of the team’s first division title in over a decade.
That is why it was so fitting to watch the guy that had been a familiar face through it all deliver one of the best moments for White Sox fans in recent memory.
With the White Sox trailing 5-3 in their first home playoff game since 2008, Garcia connected on a Yimi Garcia fastball and sent a sea of black into a frenzy.
It served as Garcia’s signature moment on the South Side. A culmination of all he and the fanbase had endured over a decade. Sure, his at-bats were sometimes unwatchable, and his glove was less than reliable. But things will feel different without him. So here’s to you, Leury Garcia. You will forever be immortalized in White Sox lore.