Garcia was born in San Gabriel, California, and grew up in Orosi, Tulare County.

He had two 20-win seasons and led the American League (AL) in earned run average (ERA) and shutouts twice each.

Baseball experts and former teammates have commented on Garcia's overpowering pitching, his fine control and his low ERA.

He grew up on a ranch in Orosi, California, where his father, Merced Garcia, moved the family when Mike was 2.

Mike's family had close ties to that of Atlanta Braves infielder Marty Perez, and the two referred to each other as cousins.

[5] Garcia was pitching in semipro baseball when Cleveland Indians scout Willis Butler noticed him in Tulare, California.

In 1942, Butler signed him as an amateur free agent to the organization's Class D farm team, the Appleton Papermakers of the Wisconsin State League.

[6] He spent the next three years as a signalman in the United States Army during World War II, serving in Europe as a member of the Signal Corps.

[9] Nicknamed "The Big Bear" by teammate Joe Gordon for his large frame, Garcia was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m), 200 lb (91 kg) during his career.

Garcia saw action as a starter and as a relief pitcher that year, starting 20 of his 41 regular season appearances.

[1]: p.215  Harder said that Garcia already had a terrific fastball, but that he became a good pitcher by learning the curveball and working on his control.

[21] Cleveland sportswriter Hal Lebovitz wrote, "Garcia, until the day he died, would tell me how much of the success he owed to Harder.

[2]: p.31 Garcia pitched a 10-hit complete game on June 4, 1951, in an 8–2 Cleveland win, helping the Indians beat New York Yankees pitcher Ed Lopat for the first time in two years.

[25] The Indians faced Ed Lopat and the Yankees again on September 14 in what Associated Press columnist Jack Hand labeled "one BIG game.

Only Wynn had more wins (23) among right-handers; Garcia and Lemon had 22 each, and the pair tied for the league lead with 36 starts.

[1]: p.215  As Feller's dominance faded in the latter part of his career, Garcia, Lemon, and Wynn were increasingly referred to as the "Big Three".

[35] He missed several games that year with a broken blood vessel in his throwing hand, but he managed 45 appearances on the season.

Author Jonathan Knight described the progression of the game: "...a throwing error by George Strickland, and Mike Garcia had struggled in the opening frame, allowing three baserunners, as panic began to creep into Municipal Stadium.

In spring training before the 1957 season, Farrell observed that the league's best pitching staff could not carry the team alone.

[50] During a spring training game in March, Garcia slipped on a wet pitcher's mound and injured his back.

He did not make his first regular season appearance until April 27 and he underwent surgery in June for a herniated disc.

[53][54] Garcia elected to become a free agent in the offseason, but he returned to the Indians, saying that his home and his dry cleaning business were in Cleveland.

[7] During a spring training game in March 1959, Garcia was hit in the knee by a Billy Consolo line drive and was carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a Tucson hospital.

[55] He did not make his first season start until May 3, when he allowed four hits and no earned runs in a complete game loss.

[16] Garcia signed with the Chicago White Sox for the 1960 season, reuniting with manager Al López and former Indians owner and team president Bill Veeck.

[16] Garcia finished his major league career with a 142–97 record, 1,117 strikeouts, a 3.27 ERA, 27 shutouts and 23 saves in 428 games (281 starts) and 2,174.6 innings.

[5][62] Garcia injured the index finger of his throwing hand while working on a midget car in late 1959, but the wound was repaired without lasting effects.

[64] Faced with dialysis three times per week, Garcia joined his former teammates at fundraising events to defray his medical expenses.

Baseball historian Bill James dismissed Garcia's low ERA due to the "cold, cavernous Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which at that time had a pitcher's mound higher than white cliffs of Dover".

[68][69][70] Each year, the Indians organization gives the Mike Garcia Award to an area high school student who demonstrates "outstanding success in the classroom, on the field, and in their community.