Harvey Garcia Makes Major League Debut

Harvey Garcia, a Lowell Spinners starting pitcher in 2004, made his Major League debut earlier in September with the Florida Marlins, bringing Lowell’s toll of Major Leaguers all the way up to 32, including seven this year, by far the most ever. Garcia was 4-6 with a 5.16 in his time in 14 starts for the Spinners and struck out 54 batters in 61.0 innings. Part of the trade that sent Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to Boston before the 2006 season, Garcia split time between Double-A and Triple-A before his promotion to Florida as a September call-up. Congratulations, Harvey!

Marks Named Baserunner of the Month

The Red Sox recently named Spinners OF David Marks as their Minor League baserunner of the month for August and September.

The outfielder was a perfect 9-0 in stolen base attempts by August 25, and stole 10 in all last year, four in August and September combined.

Other former Spinners winning monthly awards included:

• • • • OF Zach Daeges (2006) - Offensive Player of the Month, Top Quality Plate Appearance Percentage (calculated)
      • RHP Dustin Richardson (2006) - Pitcher of the Month
      • SS Jed Lowrie (2005) - Defensive Player of the Month

Congratulations to David and the rest of our former Spinners tearing up the Minor Leagues.

Dan Giese Makes MLB Debut

Former Lowell Spinner Dan Giese made his Major League debut on September 8 as a relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, striking out one batter in two scoreless innings. He became the 31st former Spinner to make the Majors and the sixth this season, the most ever in a year.

Giese appeared in 33 games as a Spinners reliever and closer in 2000 and 2001, going 3-0 with 11 saves and 47 strikeouts in 54.0 innings pitched with Lowell.

Congratulations to Dan and the rest of the Spinners crew to make it to the bigs this season!

Read about Giese and his interesting road to the Majors (which included a temporary retirement and time as a car salesman) in this article from the San Francisco Chronicle.