Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player and candidate in the upcoming 2024 United States Senate election in California. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1987.
Garvey began his major league career with the Dodgers in 1969. He won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award in 1974 and was the National League Championship Series MVP in 1978. Garvey won his only World Series ring as a member of the Dodgers' 1981 Series-winning squad.
Garvey signed with the Padres in December 1982 and remained with the team until 1987, when his playing career ended. In 1984, Garvey was once again named a National League Championship Series MVP; he hit a dramatic walk-off home run to win Game Four of the Championship Series for the Padres. Garvey was an National League All-Star for ten seasons, with nine selections as starter at first base, a mark that still stands for his position. He holds the NL record for consecutive games played with 1,207. The Padres retired Garvey's No. 6 in 1988.
During his time as a baseball player, Garvey also served as vice president of the philanthropic organization No Greater Love.
In October 2023, Garvey announced his candidacy as a Republican for U.S. Senate from California in the 2024 election for the term starting in January 2025. He finished a close second in the March 2024 top-two primary, 3,478 votes behind Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, advancing them both to the general election.[3] Garvey finished first in the partial term special election primary to replace Laphonza Butler with that term ending in January 2025. He will face Schiff in that election.
Early life
Garvey was born in Tampa, Florida, on December 22, 1948 to parents who had recently relocated from Long Island, New York. Garvey is Irish-American on his father's side; his father's roots come from County Cork, Ireland.
From 1956 to 1961, Garvey was a batboy for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers during spring training. He graduated from George D. Chamberlain High School in 1966. At Chamberlain, he was a teammate of future Major Leaguers Tom Walker and Mike Eden.
Michigan State University
After graduating from Chamberlain High School, Garvey played football and baseball at Michigan State University. He was committed to play football and baseball in college despite being drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Twins in the June 1966 amateur draft at age 17. Garvey credited his choosing MSU to Spartan head football coach Duffy Daugherty's encouraging him to be a multi-sport athlete.
At MSU, Garvey recorded 30 tackles and earned a letter as a defensive back in 1967.[11] His first at-bat in a Spartan uniform resulted in a grand-slam home run, with the ball landing in the Red Cedar River. Garvey continued to work towards completing his degree after beginning his professional baseball career, and in 1971 he received a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education
Garvey was named Michigan State Baseball Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2009, he was inducted into the Michigan State University Hall of Fame in 2010, and his baseball jersey number 10 was retired from Michigan State University in 2014.
Major League
Baseball careerGarvey was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the 1968 MLB draft (June secondary phase). He made his Major League debut on September 1, 1969, at the age of 20. He appeared in the 7th inning to pinch hit for Ray Lamb and struck out in his one appearance at the plate. He had two more plate appearances in 1969 as a pinch hitter and recorded his first hit on September 10, off Denny Lemaster of the Houston Astros. He played third base for the Dodgers in 1970 and hit his first home run on July 21, 1970, off Carl Morton of the Montreal Expos. He moved to first base in 1973 after the retirement of Wes Parker.
Garvey was part of one of the most enduring infields in baseball history, along with third baseman Ron Cey, shortstop Bill Russell, and second baseman Davey Lopes. The four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years, starting on June 13, 1973.
Garvey is one of only two players to have started an All-Star Game as a write-in vote, doing so in 1974. That year, he won the NL MVP award and had the first of six 200-hit seasons. In the 1978 National League Championship Series, which the Dodgers won over the Philadelphia Phillies, Garvey hit four home runs and added a triple for five extra base hits, both marks tying Bob Robertson's 1971 NLCS record and earning him the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award; Jeffrey Leonard would tie the NLCS home run record in the 1987 NLCS.
Garvey's cheerful personality, his availability with reporters, and his willingness to sign autographs for fans made him a very popular player, and the Dodgers took advantage of this, making him one of the main focuses of their public relations campaigns. This caused friction with some of his Dodger teammates, such as Cey and Lopes, who thought Garvey was only acting this way to get endorsement opportunities. Cey, Lopes, and another unnamed player criticized Garvey in a mid-June 1976 San Bernardino Sun-Telegram article, which prompted manager Walter Alston to call a team meeting. At this meeting, Garvey said, "If anyone has anything to say about me, I want it said to my face, here and now." No one said anything. Tommy John thought it was at this point that Alston, who retired at the end of the year, began to lose control of the team.
Late in the 1978 season, the rift resurfaced when The Washington Post published an article in which Don Sutton was quoted complaining that Garvey was the only Dodger to get publicity, and insisting that Reggie Smith was a better player. The day after the article appeared, Garvey confronted Sutton with a copy of it in the locker room of Shea Stadium, where the Dodgers were playing a series against the New York Mets. When Sutton affirmed that the quotes were his, the two got into a brawl. Garvey threw Sutton into Tommy John's locker, causing 96 baseballs John had been signing to fall out. Neither was hurt and the two managed to overcome their feud, making sure they were the first to congratulate each other on the field for the rest of the season.
With the Dodgers, Garvey played in 1,727 games over 14 seasons and hit .301 with 211 homers and 992 RBI. He was selected to eight All-Star Games and won the All-Star Game MVP Award for the 1974 and 1978 games. He also won four straight Gold Glove Awards from 1974 to 1977, won the 1981 Roberto Clemente Award, and finished in the top 10 in the NL MVP Award voting five times.
After Garvey signed with the San Diego Padres in 1982, the Dodgers kept his number 6 out of circulation for 21 years until it was given to utility player Jolbert Cabrera in 2003. It is Dodger policy not to officially retire a number unless a player who spent a majority of his playing days with the franchise gets inducted into the Hall of Fame.
San Diego Padres
In December 1982, Garvey signed with the Padres for $6.6 million over five years in what some felt was a "masterstroke" to General Manager Jack McKeon's effort to rebuild the team. Though San Diego had vastly outbid the Dodgers, McKeon noted Garvey's value in providing a role model for younger players. Additionally, Garvey's "box office appeal"—his impending departure from the Dodgers provoked some Girl Scouts to picket the stadium—helped San Diego increase its season ticket sales by 6,000 seats in Garvey's first year. Sports Illustrated ranked the signing as the 15th best free agent signing ever as of 2008.
Personal life
At age 22, Garvey married Cynthia Truhan in 1971. They had two daughters, Krisha and Whitney. Truhan left Garvey for composer Marvin Hamlisch; Garvey was already romantically involved with his secretary, which Truhan didn’t find out until after she had left him. Garvey and Truhan divorced in 1985.
In July 1988, Garvey discovered that Cheryl Moulton was pregnant with his child, Ashleigh Young. Despite this, Garvey proposed to Rebecka Mendenhall in November 1988, telling Mendenhall about Moulton at the time of the proposal. Mendenhall learned that she was pregnant that January. Garvey broke their engagement January 1, 1989. Garvey and Mendenhall had been in a long-distance relationship since 1986. Their only child, a son named Slade Mendenhall, was born in October 1989.
Garvey said he was in the midst of what he termed a "midlife disaster". Garvey sued his ex-wife, Truhan, for access to his two children when she had denied it, which he won. His daughters testified in court that they did not wish to see him, but a psychiatrist testified that they exhibited parental alienation syndrome. During the 2024 campaign, Garvey's oldest daughter Krisha stated that he cut contact with her 15 years ago while Young and Mendenhall also came out and stated Garvey had not made the effort to speak with them outside of contact placed via family court.
In January 1989, Garvey became engaged to Candace Thomas, whom he met at a benefit for the Special Olympics. Over the next few weeks, Garvey and Thomas began a courtship that included trips to the inauguration of President George H. W. Bush and the Super Bowl. Garvey and Thomas were married on February 18, 1989. They have three children together and four children from previous marriages. Garvey resides in Los Angeles and Palm Desert, California.
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- SERVES
- 20
- COOK TIME
- 25 Min
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- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 pound frozen salad shrimp, thawed
- 1/2 cup sliced scallion (green onion)
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1928 – George Maharis, American actor (d.2023)
1946 – Barry Gibb, English singer (Bee Gees)
1950 – Phil McGraw, American talk show host
1961 – Christopher Ferguson, American astronaut
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