Osmani García

Osmani García Santana

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.
• Born September 6, 1974 in Villa Clara Cuba

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Osmani García played for eight seasons in Cuba and for four in the minors.

García was a third baseman/super utility player for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series. He hit .300/.358/.441 with 105 doubles in 1,902 at-bats during his career in Cuba, while fielding .970. He defected by boat to Costa Rica in late summer 1998 with fellow Villa Clara teammates Angel Lopez, Jorge Diaz, Alain Hernandez and Maikel Jova. Along with Lopez, he had previously been suspended for contact with defector Rolando Arrojo.

García signed a free-agent contract with the Texas Rangers in early 2000 and advanced to AAA Oklahoma City after just 44 games of A experience with the Charlotte Rangers. He hit .335/.354/.524 for Charlotte and .270/.319/.358 for Oklahoma City.

Garcia split 2001 between AA Tulsa (.258/.284/.412 in 71 G) and AAA Oklahoma City (.237/.250/.318 in 47 G) before drawing his release at age 27. He spent the next two years in the independent Northern League, spending time with the Elmira Pioneers (.278/.303/.366 in 2002) and Quebec Les Capitales (.311/.336/.429 in 2003, finishing 7th in the league in average between Eddie Lantigua and Marcos Agramonte - he lost All-Star honors at 2B to Agromonte). He fielded .951 in the minors, including .947 at his primary position, third base. In the minors, he hit .284/.309/.402 in 378 games.