ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thursday afternoon, Mitch Garver, the former La Cueva Bear and UNM Lobo baseball standout announced his retirement from the MLB after 10 seasons in the league.
Over his career in the major leagues, Garver had a .229 batting average with 110 career homeruns and 324 RBIs.
Garver walked on for the Lobos and made his impact for the Lobos. In 2012 and 2013 Garver was named the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year along with another former Lobo, D.J. Peterson.
During that time, Garver and the Lobos found a ton of success where they won the Mountain West regular season title in 2012 and 2013 and the Mountain West Tournament Championship in 2011 & 2012.
Garver helped the Lobos reach the NCAA Tournament Regionals during 2012 and 2013.
He had his best season in 2013 when he hit with a .390 batting average, 6 homeruns and 68 RBI’s. Garver set a UNM record by starting 181 consecutive games.
When the 2013 MLB Draft rolled around, Garver was selected in the 9th round by the Minnesota Twins. He made his MLB debut on August 18, 2017.
Garver was with the Twins from 2017-2021. The 2019 season was one of Garver’s best hitting 31 homeruns and 67 RBIs to help him earn the Silver Slugger Award.
He also played for the Texas Rangers (2022-23) and the more recently the Seattle Mariners (2024-2026).
During the 2023 season, Garver helped the Rangers capture the World Series Title. In those playoffs, Garver had a grand slam in the ALDS against the Baltimore Orioles.
