For fans of teams who failed to make the postseason, they will likely be focused on the offseason and how said organizations improve their roster. During that time, said fans may tune into the American or National League Championship Series and the World Series to see how the remaining teams perform.
A lot has been said about the amount of former New York Yankees who are performing exceptionally well, including Texas Rangers starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi. St. Louis Cardinals fans are certainly seeing one move they had made in the past backfire tremendously.
Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia has been crushing it this postseason, especially in the ALCS. He broke the record for most RBIs in the ALCS. Those who might forget, Garcia was a member of the Cardinals in the past, but the team traded him to Texas for cash considerations.
Adolis Garcia's performance in ALCS has Cardinals fans in shambles
Garcia signed on with the Cardinals back in 2017 but never had a lengthy stay in the majors. Appearing in just 21 games with St. Louis, Garcia recorded a .118 batting average, a .118 on-base percentage, a .176 slugging percentage, one RBI, two hits, and three runs in 17 at-bats. Ultimately, the Cardinals decided they had no plans for Garcia in their future and decided to designate him for assignment.
The Rangers would take a chance on Garcia in 2019, and it would pay off down the road. In his first full season in 2021, Garcia made it to the All-Star Game after slashing .270/.312/.527 while recording 22 home runs, 43 runs, 62 RBI, and 84 hits in 80 games before the break.
This season, Garcia was named a starter for the AL All-Star Game. In 148 regular-season games, Garcia slashed .245/.328/.508 while recording 39 home runs, 107 RBI, 108 runs, and 136 hits in 555 at-bats.
In this ALCS against the Houston Astros, Garcia made history. In his first three at-bats of Game 7, Garcia knocked in four runs, two of which came on a single in the top of the fourth inning to increase Texas' lead to 10-2. That increased his RBI total in this series alone to 14, which is now the most recorded in a single postseason series in MLB history.
Garcia would increase his total in the eighth inning on a solo home run to right field to extend the lead to 11-3. In six at-bats spanning from the ninth inning of Game 6 through Game 7, Garcia went five-for-six with three home runs and nine RBI.
For the Cardinals, they didn't view Garcia as a future All-Star outfielder. That decision has backfired, and he was the one who got away and put up historic numbers in the postseason.