In Game 6 of the 2023 ALCS, Adolis García smacked two home runs to help lead the Texas Rangers to the World Series.
Those two home runs, plus the grand slam he hit in Game 6, helped him collect 15 RBI in the series. That is the highest RBI total for a player in any playoff series, ever. Not surprisingly, García won the ALCS MVP.
But who is Adolis García? What led him up to his historic ALCS? And what are his rookie cards? And are they worth chasing?
Shop for Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
To say that Garcia’s journey to his big ALCS moment was unique is an understatement.
The 30-year-old Cuban native played for the Cuban National Team in 2015 at the Pan Am Games, where he came to international attention.
In April of 2016, he signed a contract with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. Garcia struggled in his one year in Japan but was still considered an exciting young player.
In late 2016 he defected from Cuba and signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals in February of 2017. Garcia performed well across AA and AAA for the Cardinals in 2017, and again in his return to AAA in 2018.
In August of 2018, he made his big-league debut with the Cardinals but hit poorly in a small sample size (17 at-bats). He spent 2019 back in AAA. The Cardinals designated Garcia for assignment that December and traded him to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations.
Garcia got into 3 games with Texas in 2020, going hitless in 6 at-bats. Headed into his age 28 season, Garcia looked a long way from a record-setting MVP.
Garcia flipped the script, however, and after being called up to the big leagues in April of 2021, hasn’t looked back. In 2021, Garcia was 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting and hit 31 home runs and tied for the league lead with 16 outfield assists.
He was selected to the 2021 All-Star team. In 2022, he followed his strong rookie year up with a 27 home, 201 RBI, 25 stolen base season.
2023 would prove Garcia’s best season to date. He smacked 39 home runs and drove in 107 runs while leading the Texas Rangers to the World Series. He was again an All-Star and put up 4.2 WAR on the year.
Overall, Garcia sports a line of 244/.302/.468, good for an OPS of .770 and OPS+ of 110. He has been worth 11.2 WAR in his career, which totals just about 3 full seasons’ worth of games.
Garcia isn’t a perfect player, by any means. His power is legit, and his defense is strong. He’s also stolen 50 bases in his career while only being caught 12 times. But he struggles with strikeouts and doesn’t walk much.
Combined with his low average, the low OBP gives us a talented but flawed player. That being said, Garcia seems to have a flair for the big stage and is an exciting player to watch.
Shop for Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
In his short career, Adolis García has appeared on 1,477 cards, with more likely to come as 2023 comes to a close. With that many cards, any Top 5 list is sure to be subjective and incomplete. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun, or a worthwhile exercise.
The 1st Bowman cards of Adolis García are found in 2018, with his rookie cards coming a year later in 2019. As with any ultra-modern offering, there are a myriad of parallels, autographs, and the like. Here are a few of our favorites.
Shop for Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
Garcia’s Bowman rookie card is a great example of how Garcia’s rise to fame has been swift. The card has only been graded six times by PSA, with only 2 PSA 10s.
Obviously, no recent comps are available for a graded copy. Raw copies are still fairly inexpensive, although prices are rising with the ALCS heroics.
Shop for 2019 Bowman Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
The 2019 Topps Garcia rookie has been graded a bit more than the Bowman, but is still decidedly low population. The only recent sale was for around $55. Again, prices are likely trending up from there.
Shop for Adolis Garcia 2019 Topps rookie cards on eBay
Garcia’s 1st Bowman paper is another card with very low PSA population, with only 6 cards graded and three in PSA 10 slabs.
Shop for 1st Bowman cards of Adolis Garcia 2018 Bowman on eBay
The chrome version of the 1st Bowman is probably the premium unsigned Garcia early card. PSA has graded 40 copies, with 27 in PSA 10 slabs.
The last sale was for only $40, but prices are already up over the last few days.
Shop for Jose Adolis Garcia 2018 Bowman Chrome 1st Bowman Cards on eBay
The autographed version of the 1st Bowman is actually the most graded card on our list, with 85 copies graded by PSA with 47 PSA 10s.
This isn’t shocking as while the base cards maybe weren’t considered grading candidates, the autograph had a bit more appeal. The last copy sold was for $200, although most currently available on eBay now are in the $300-400 range.
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A snapshot of the most important Adolis Garcia rookie cards with population counts.
Card | Total PSA Pop | PSA Comp Pop | Recent PSA Comp |
---|---|---|---|
2019 Bowman Adolis Garcia #84 | 6 | PSA 10 = 2 | NA |
2019 Topps Adolis Garcia #227 | 23 | PSA 10 = 18 | PSA 10 = $55 |
2018 Bowman Prospects Jose Adolis Garcia #BP121 | 6 | PSA 10 = 3 | NA |
2018 Bowman Chrome Prospects Jose Adolis Garcia #BCP121 | 40 | PSA 10 = 27 | PSA 10 = $40 |
2018 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autographs Jose Adolis Garcia #CPA-BW | 85 | PSA 10 = 47 | PSA 10 = $200 |
Adolis García is an exciting player who is having a moment right now. He’s got a fascinating backstory and light-tower power. But does that make his cards good investments?
It’s typically a bad idea to buy a player’s cards when they’re peaking, especially when they’re doing it in a very public way in the playoffs. Add in the fact that while Garcia has impressive power and is a dynamic player, he is already 30 years old and doesn’t get on base well, and you have a player who might not be a good long-term investment.
In fact, this may be the time to sell, as it’s unlikely that Garcia cards are ever quite as hot as they are now.
That being said, and putting investment advice aside, sometimes it’s fun to own a card of the hot player. If you are a Garcia fan, a Rangers fan, or for whatever other reason want to own a Garcia card, and it’s in your collecting budget, have at it.
It may not appreciate in value, and very likely will go down over time, but it’s not all about the money when it comes to the hobby.
Shop for Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
Adolis García is an exciting player having his moment after a fascinating journey to this point. He has several interesting prospect and rookie cards to chase.
While the long-term prospects for investment may not be great, let’s not forget that collecting is a hobby and there is room for the odd sentimental purchase if you so desire.
What do you think of Adolis García? Buying or selling his cards? Let us know at card_lines on Twitter.
Shop for Adolis Garcia rookie cards on eBay
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