The Nashua Pride , managed by former Boston Red Sox third baseman and manager Butch Hobson, announced today that Rich Garces, 35, will be joining the club! Rich Garces, a.k.a. "El Guapo", a right-handed pitcher, was with the Red Sox from 1996-2002 and wore no. 34. The Nashua Pride currently play in the Can-Am league, an independent professional league which is approximately two steps below "single A" baseball. "El Guapo" continues to be in the popularity-level with the likes of George "The Boomer" Scott, "Oil Can" Boyd and "Big Papi" David Ortiz.
Rich Garces, the Venezuelan hurler who earned cult status with Boston Red Sox fans earlier this decade, will don a Nashua Pride uniform this season.Known as "El Guapo" - the Spanish phrasing for "The Handsome One" - Garces won acclaim not only for his effective middle-relief work with the Red Sox but for his girth. His weight was listed at 250 pounds, but it was obvious that he tipped the scales at a higher number.
The Can-Am League Pride announced Tuesday that Garces had inked a contract.
"Signing Rich to pitch this season is really fun for the fans in Nashua," Pride Manager Butch Hobson said in a press release. "He has pitched great in Venezuela this winter and we will look for him to be a leader both in the bullpen and in the community."
His last Major League Baseball appearance was in 2002 with the Sox, and he played for the club's Gulf Coast League team in 2005. The 35-year-old has pitched for a Venezuelan professional winter league team the past two years.
He wore a Sox uniform for seven seasons, and had particularly effective stints out of the bullpen in 1999 and 2000.
Garces had a 10-year MLB career, also pitching for the Twins, Cubs, and Marlins. He compiled a 23-10 record with 296 strikeouts, seven saves and a 3.74 ERA.
El Guapo was voted second most beloved Red Sox reliever since 1967 in a recent Boston Dirt Dogs poll.
-- Albert McKeon ( The Nashua Telegraph )
El Guapo's career to date...
The Twins signed Garces as an amateur free agent in 1987 and eventually he turned into one of the American League's premier relievers. In 1999 with Boston, the righty posted a 5-1 record with 33 SO, 1.55 ERA, two saves, 40.2 IP and earned one victory against the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. The following season he went 8-1 with 69 SO, 3.25 ERA, one save and 74.2 IP for the Red Sox. In a ten-year Major League career, the Venezuelan native compiled a 23-10 record with 296 strikeouts, 3.74 ERA, seven saves, 164 walks and 341.1 IP in 287 games.
Garces pitched for the Águilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan Professional Winter Baseball League (2006-2007) and finished 3-1 with 23 SO, 2.31 ERA, 11 saves and 23.1 IP in 24 games. The team finished second in the western division and third in the playoffs. ( El Guapo sitting pretty in Pride Uniform , February 20, 2007 )
Photo: Rich Garces
Tags: Rich Garces, Nashua Pride, Boston Red Sox
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