- Seasons at Stanford: 2000-03
- Professional Organization: Cleveland Indians
- 3rd Round Draft Pick (2003)
- Complete Final Career Stats
Professional Baseball Career - Signed a professional baseball contract with the Cleveland Indians' organization during the summer of 2003 after being selected in the third round (78th pick overall) of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft ... Began his professional baseball career with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the `Short Season A' New York-Penn League, hitting .273 with four homers, 16 RBI and one stolen base in 2003.
Cardinal Career - A two-time All-Pac-10 selection and First Team All-American as a senior ... Finished his Stanford career with a .350 batting average (#9T Stanford career list), 39 homers (#9 Stanford career list) and 191 RBI (#7T Stanford career list) in 218 games played and 198 starts ... Added 60 career doubles to rank fifth on the school's all-time list, as well as 179 runs scored, 259 hits, a triple, 95 bases on balls, 45 hit-by-pitches, 21 sacrifice flies and four stolen bases ... Had 72 career multiple-hit games and 54 multiple RBI contests ... Posted a career .389 (21-54) batting average at the College World Series and is one of only two Stanford players ever to be named twice to the All-CWS team ... Named Most Outstanding (2003) and Co-Most Outstanding (2001) Player at a pair of NCAA Regionals ... Homered against every Pac-10 team at least once ... Had incredible career numbers versus several Pac-10 teams, including long-time rival USC as he hit .408 with four homers and drove in 27 runs during his four years of action versus the Trojans ... Played in the final 174 consecutive games of his career.
As a Senior in 2003 - Had a huge senior season to conclude his collegiate career, earning unanimous First Team All-American honors and becoming the first Stanford player to win the Johnny Bench Award given annually to the nation's Most Outstanding catcher ... Was also the Co-Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player, Stanford's Most Valuable Player and earned his second All-College World Series selection ... Hit a team-high .402 (#3 Pac-10, #37 NCAA) to become just the sixth Stanford player to ever bat over .400 in a season and the first since David McCarty hit .420 in 1991, earning the Jack Shepard Memorial Award for the second time in his career given to the Stanford player with the highest batting average ... Tied the school's single-season record with 92 RBI (#2 Pac-10, #8 NCAA) ... Finished the season with more homers (18, #3T Pac-10, #57 NCAA) than strikeouts (17) with just one strikeout every 15.2 at bats ... Led the team in homers, RBI, total bases (182, #1 Pac-10), slugging percentage (.703, #1 Pac-10, #35 NCAA), multiple-hit games (33), multiple-RBI games (27), sacrifice flies (8, #1T Pac-10) and extra-base hits (42), while tying for the team lead in doubles (24, #2T Pac-10) ... Ranked second on the club in hits (104, #6T on Stanford's single-season hit list) hit-by-pitches (12, #4T Pac-10), on-base percentage (.469, #8 Pac-10) and putouts (411, #6 Pac-10) ... Threw out 15-of-38 base stealers (37.7%) ... Had a tremendous postseason, batting .383 with three homers and 14 RBI ... Hit .321 with four RBI in his final CWS and was 8-for-13 (.615) with three homers and nine RBI in the NCAA Regional ... Led the team with five postseason doubles, while tying for the team lead in runs scored (15) and on-base percentage (.475) ... Went 81 official at bats between strikeouts at Washington State (4/5) and in his second at bat versus Cal Poly (5/23) ... Hit .433 with 10 homers and a league-high 39 RBI in just 24 Pac-10 games (23 starts) ... Had three or more RBI in a game 15 times with nine three-RBI contests, four four-RBI games, a five-RBI game and a seven-RBI effort ... Posted a season-high 10-game hit streak (3/24-4/11), going 24-for-41 (.585) with five doubles, five homers and 21 RBI ... Had an eight-game hit streak (2/8-2/22, Game 2), hitting .400 (12-30) with four homers and 13 RBI, and a seven-game hit streak (4/17-4/27), going 8-for-23 (.348) with three doubles, one homer and one stolen base ... Picked up his final collegiate hit in a 14-2 loss to Rice (6/23) in the CWS Championship Series finale with a seventh inning double ... Tied Stanford's single-season RBI record with a run-scoring double in the first inning of Stanford's 4-3 loss to Rice (6/21) in the opener of the CWS Championship Series (6/21) ... Picked up his 100th hit of the season with an eighth inning double versus Cal State Fullerton (6/18) ... Drove in three runs in the first four innings of Stanford's 8-0 victory over South Carolina in the CWS opener (6/13) ... Named the Most Outstanding Player at the NCAA Regional by going 8-for-13 (.615) with a double, three homers and nine RBI, capping the performance by hitting two homers, driving in five runs and tying a career-high four runs scored in a 3-for-5 performance versus Richmond in the championship game (6/1) ... Was 3-for-5 with a double, homer and a pair of RBI versus UC Riverside (5/31) ... Had a huge series against Cal Poly (5/23-5/25) to end the regular season, going 8-for-11 (.727) with a homer, four RBI, five runs scored and a 1.061 slugging percentage ... Tied a career-high with his fourth four-hit game of the season (4-4, HR, 3 RBI) versus Cal Poly (5/24) ... Drove in the tying run with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth inning of a 9-8, 10-inning victory over UCLA (5/18) to help the Cardinal clinch the outright Pac-10 title ... Drove in four runs versus Saint Mary's (5/13) ... Was 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI at California (5/9), driving in the game-winning run with an RBI single in the top of the ninth ... Had a huge series at USC (5/3-5/4) to earn NCBWA National Co-Hitter, CollegeBaseballInsider.com West Regional and Pac-10 Player of the Week honors, all for the first time in his career, going 10-for-13 (.769) with three homers, 12 RBI and a stolen base while posting a 1.615 slugging percentage ... Had a monster effort in the second game of a doubleheader and the USC series finale (5/4 - Game 2), going 4-for-4 (career-high-tying four hits) with his third career two-homer game, his first career grandslam and a career-high seven RBI ... Was 6-for-7 with two homers, nine RBI and a stolen base in the doubleheader versus the Trojans (5/4) ... Had a career-high-tying four hits (4-6, HR, 3 RBI), homered and drove in three runs in the series opener at USC (5/3) ... Scored a career-high-tying four runs versus Oregon State (4/18) ... Was 3-for-4 with two RBI versus Sacramento State (4/11) ... Posted the second two-homer game of his career and was 3-for-4 with four RBI at Washington State (4/5) in a game in which he also posted his 200th career hit ... Was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI versus San Francisco (4/1) ... Was 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI versus Washington (3/30) ... Tied a career-high with four hits at Arizona State (3/24), going 4-for-4 with three RBI and hitting a two-run homer in the eighth inning that snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted the Cardinal to a 4-2 win ... Drove in three runs in back-to-back games at USC (2/28, 3/1), as well as in the second game of a doubleheader at Texas (2/22) ... One of only two Stanford players to hit a pair of sacrifice flies in a game during the 2003 campaign at Texas (2/22 - Game 2) ... Homered and had four RBI versus Florida State (2/9 - 3-4, HR, 4 RBI) ... Had a season-high 13 putouts versus Florida State (2/7) ... Was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI at Santa Clara in the season-opener (1/25) ... Named Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic ... Named Second Team Preseason All-American (Collegiate Baseball).
As a Junior in 2002 - All-NCAA Regional and All-Pac-10 choice ... Johnny Bench Award semifinalist ... Led the team in homers (14, #7 Pac-10), runs scored (68, #2 Pac-10), bases on balls (38, #3T Pac-10), on-base percentage (.430) and putouts (397) ... Ranked second on the club in RBI (55, #8 Pac-10), doubles (18, #5T Pac-10) and sacrifice flies (7, #5T Pac-10), as well as tied for second in hit-by-pitches (16, #3T Pac-10, #5T on Stanford's all-time single-season list) ... Ranked third on the club in slugging percentage (.565), multiple-hit games (22) and multiple-RBI contests (15) ... Started all 65 games and 61 behind the plate ... Threw out 18-of-51 base stealers (35.3%) ... Co-led the team with six homers and ranked second with 24 RBI, while hitting .311 in Pac-10 action ... Had a productive College World Series, going 5-for-14 (.357) with two doubles and two RBI ... Had a pair of two-hit CWS games versus Texas (6/17 - 2-4, 2 RBI) and Notre Dame (6/15 - 2-4, 2 2B) before being hit by a pair of pitches in Stanford's final game of the season against Texas (6/20) ... Hit .429 (3-7) with an RBI in two games of the NCAA Super Regional versus USC (6/7-6/8) ... Had a pair of doubles in the NCAA Regional championship game versus Long Beach State (6/2) ... Had a six-game postseason hit streak (6/2-6/18), going 10-for-22 (.455) with four doubles and four RBI ... Hit his 14th homer, a three-run shot in the second inning, against Washington State (5/24) ... Snapped out of a 1-for-17 (.059) slump with two doubles and a homer in his final three at bats at UCLA (5/19 - 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI) ... Had a key two-run homer to help lift Stanford to a 5-3 win over Arizona State (5/10) ... Had the first two-homer game of his career and tied a career-high with four runs scored at Santa Clara (5/7) ... Had a key three-run homer and a season-high four RBI to key a 13-6 comeback win over California (5/4) ... Was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI at Oregon State (4/28) ... Was 3-for-5 with an RBI at Washington (4/20) ... Was 3-for-4 with an RBI at USC (3/23 - Game 2) ... Posted a season-long 10-game hit streak (2/15-3/8) in which he was 15-for-42 (.357) with two doubles, three homers and 13 RBI ... Hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning at California (3/8) to break up a shutout and start Stanford's 15-4 comeback win from a 4-0 deficit after six innings ... Hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Stanford to an 8-7 win over Santa Clara (2/24) ... Had three consecutive two-hit games versus Santa Clara (2/22 - 2-4, RBI; 2/23 - 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; 2/24 - 2-4, HR, 3 RBI) ... Was 3-for-4 with a homer off the top of a bus and three RBI at Florida State (2/9) ... Opened the season by going 6-for-8 (.750) with two doubles, a homer, three RBI and six runs scored in the first two games (2/1, 2/2) of the Cal State Fullerton series ... Tied a career-high with four hits (4-4, 2B, HR, 2 HBP, 2 RBI) and reached base in all six plate appearances versus Cal State Fullerton (2/2) ... Named Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic ... Second Team Preseason All-American (Collegiate Baseball).
As a Sophomore in 2001 - Earned the team's Most Improved Player and Jack Shepard Memorial (highest team batting average) awards with a .368 batting average ... Honorable mention All-Pac-10 ... Added seven homers, 16 doubles, a triple and 43 RBI ... Led the team with a .448 on-base percentage (#5 Pac-10) and co-led the club with a .562 slugging percentage (#9-T Pac-10) ... Second on the team with six sacrifice flies (#4 Pac-10) ... Ranked tied for second on the squad with 12 multiple-RBI games and tied for third with 16 multiple-hit contests ... Emerged as the team's starting catcher approximately a third of the way into the season, starting the club's last 40 games behind the plate (57 starts overall) ... Earned All-College World Series honors after leading the team with a .583 batting average at the CWS, going 7-for-12 with five runs scored, one double, two homers and four RBI ... Hit .409 in the postseason, hitting safely in 10 of 12 games and adding a team-high-tying three homers, three doubles, a team-high 12 runs scored and nine RBI ... Had some huge postseason moments, including solo homers in both CWS victories over Cal State Fullerton (6/10, 6/13) ... His seventh-inning home run versus the Titans in a second round CWS contest (6/10) tied the game at 1-1 and sent the contest into extra innings with the Cardinal eventually winning 5-2 in 10 innings ... Also had an RBI single in the seventh inning to put Stanford ahead for good in a dramatic 13-11 comeback victory over Tulane in the CWS opener (6/8) ... Caught the first pitch thrown out by President George W. Bush prior to the CWS opener versus Tulane (6/8) ... Hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first inning of Stanford's 11-1 victory over South Carolina (6/1) in the opening game of the NCAA Super Regional as he was 3-for-5 with the homer and an RBI ... Named the Co-Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Regional after hitting .364 with two homers and four RBI ... Provided one of two huge highlights for the Cardinal on the final day of the NCAA Regional when he hit a two-RBI single in the top of the eighth inning of the second championship game versus Texas (5/27) to put the Cardinal ahead to stay in a 4-3 win ... Had a big game in the NCAA Regional opener versus Marist (5/25), leading the Cardinal to a 4-3 win by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBI ... Hit .361 with two homers and 18 RBI in Pac-10 action ... Put together a career-high 21-game hit streak (4/22-6/1), the longest by a Cardinal player during the season, going 35-for-87 (.402) with 11 doubles, a triple, three homers, 23 RBI and 11 multiple-hit games during the stretch ... Hit safely in 33 of his last 37 games and 45 of 59 overall ... Had several key hits late in the regular season, including a two-RBI triple (the only three-bagger of his career) to key a four-run third inning in an 8-6 win at San Francisco (5/9) and a three-run homer to lift Stanford to a 4-3 win over San Jose State (4/24) ... Picked up his first career four-hit game against Oregon State (4/13 - 4-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) ... Recorded additional three-hit games versus Cal Poly (5/8 - 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI), at Nevada (4/10 - 3-5, HR, 3 RBI) and in the season-opener at Cal Poly (1/21 - 3-4, RBI) ... Had other regular season three-RBI games at Washington State (5/18 - 2-3, HR, 3 RBI), versus San Jose State (4/24 - 2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI) and versus UCLA (4/7, Game 2 - 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI) ... Started the season hot by hitting safely in his first six games ... Named Second Team Pac-10 All-Academic.
As a Freshman in 2000 - Hit .143 primarily as a pinch-hitter and in nine starts as a designated hitter ... Was 2-for-4 versus Texas (2/18) and had doubles in games versus Santa Clara (3/3) and USC (3/18) ... Had his lone RBI of the season at California (2/27).
High School - A 1999 graduate of Servite High School... Named an All-American by Cal-Hi Sports as a senior after setting new school records in five categories with a .577 batting average, eight homers, 55 RBI, six triples and 44 hits ... Had a career prep batting average of .484 to go with totals of 24 home runs, 147 RBI, 140 hits, 15 triples and 37 doubles ... A four-time All-Conference and All-County player ... Named league MVP as a sophomore ... Three-time All-Section choice ... Also a two-year varsity starter in football and an All-League quarterback as a senior ... Four-year member of high school honor roll ... Graduated with a 4.2 GPA ... Coached in baseball by Todd Cook. Amateur Summer Baseball - Spent most of his 2002 summer season with the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod League, hitting .300 with one homer, six RBI and two stolen bases ... Played in eight games late in the summer of 2002 with Team USA as a member of the 2002 FISU World Championship runners-up, collecting one RBI ... Played for Hyannis during the summer of 2001, hitting .233 with three homers and 19 RBI in 37 games to earn a spot in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game ... Earned All-Alaska Baseball League honors with the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks in the summer of 2000, hitting .330 with nine doubles, a pair of homers, 11 RBI and four stolen bases in 36 games ... Played on the USA Junior National Team in 1999, hitting .400 with six RBI ... Had an excellent summer of 1999 playing Connie Mack baseball with the Camino Real Rockies, hitting .480 with a homer, 32 RBI and six stolen bases.
Personal - Graduated in June of 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in American Studies ... Son of Michael and Elaine Garko ... Volunteered in the Stanford Athletics media relations office in the fall of 2001 ... A big fan of Notre Dame football ... Hobbies include listening to music and reading.
Last Updated: 2/13/04