Valley Star

Issue date: 3/14/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Paul Olden STRIKE A POSE - Valley College catcher Mitch Garcia

In his first season with the Monarchs, freshman catcher Mitch Garcia has not gotten much playing time, but his presence on the team has certainly been felt.

Garcia is known on his team for two things: being from a small town called Grants Pass in southern Oregon and his Chris Farley impression.

"He's real witty," said Coach Dave Mallas. "He comes up with lines throughout games and practices. He's very spontaneous and has a lot of fun with it … It's always nice to have someone to keep the team loose in tight games."

Standing six feet tall and weighing 220 pounds, Garcia looks imposing at first, but as soon as he smiles his face transforms into that of a little boy's with chubby cheeks, an impish grin and slightly mussed hair.

This self-described small town boy grew up far away from the big city, only moving to Los Angeles in August 2006, and jokingly reminisces about socializing around the local Wal-Mart.

Coming from a town that only recently reached 30,000 people, Garcia is more than a little star struck living in Los Angeles where celebrity spotting is just a part of life.

"It's definitely a big step up … I've met a lot of celebrities already, that's a big difference," said Garcia. "We had a pro [Jeff Suppan] come to our practice and work out with us, that was a big change. The guy won the World Series as a pitcher [and] came out and practiced with our baseball team. That never happened in Oregon."

Despite going through such a large transition, Garcia loves Los Angeles and has made many friends on the team, using his sense of humor and outgoing nature to create a positive atmosphere.

"Mitch is one of the nicest guys I've met in a long time and a really good friend," said teammate and friend Leandro Dottavio. "I haven't met someone who doesn't like the guy. My family likes him. My girlfriend likes him. He's really, really funny. He cheers me up all the time."

So far this season Garcia hasn't been able to get on the field at his natural catcher position since there are already two sophomore catchers on the team, but Coach Mallas says he plans to use him more next year.

The left-handed Garcia gets most of his playing time as a designated hitter, with a .176 batting average with 17 at bats this season. According to Mallas, he is a gap-to-gap hitter, which means that he hits the ball into play a lot but does not hit home runs often.

In his spare time, he often works on his hitting. Dottavio says that he and Garcia go to the batting cages every Sunday. Garcia has not decided on a major but hopes to go into dentistry.

Though Garcia may not be a star player on the field, Mallas says that he is a valuable part of the team because of his hard work and positive attitude.

"He has done very well and has established some great friendships that he will have not only on the team, but for the rest of his life," Mallas said.

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