Detroit Tigers: Ryan Garko is the new vice president of player development

Former MLB first basemen Ryan Garko joins the Detroit Tigers front office ranks as the new vice president of player development.

The Detroit Tigers search for a vice president of player development is over as the team announced today in a press release that former MLB first baseman Ryan Garko will be the new vice president of player development. He spent the last two seasons coaching with the LA Angels.

Chris Brown listed a series of candidates last week that seem to fit what the Tigers were looking for but upon closer examination with just a few early details available,  he has a solid foundation of what the Tigers need as that is helping players improve and get everything out of their natural ability.

Stanford pedigree

Just like manager A.J. Hinch, he is a graduate of Stanford University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies with a focus in Politics, Policy, and Economics in 2003. He spent time with Cleveland, San Francisco, and Texas in six seasons.

His track record after baseball is impressive. After his playing career, he was the assistant head coach at Stanford and while he was there, he was the recruiting coordinator and instructor for developing hitters.

During his time at Stanford, he helped them land several top recruiting classes and as Brandon Day of Bless Boys Boys discussed earlier, the Dodgers connections to  Hinch, George Lombard, Chris Fetter, and even former Tigers outfielder Gabe Kapler, who was the director of player development for the Dodgers at one time when Garko was the manager of the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.  This was an endorsement from Kapler when Garko took over as the manager at Pacific University.

“Garko is a strong hire. Our organization will miss him and we wish him and his family the best of luck in Stockton.  Garko brings strong communication skills, a warm and engaging personality, a solid baseball acumen and a high level of character.  We trust that Garko’s transition will be full of challenges that he’s well equipped to handle.  His flexibility and diligence will shine through, and he’ll be capable of tackling anything thrown his way.”

He embraces Driveline Baseball, which has been a game-changer for players and how the data helps players get better.  His first win as a Pacific University head coach in 2018 came against a familiar name among Detroit Tigers fans, Tarik Skubal, when he was pitching at Seattle University. 

Later on that season, his Pacific Tigers beat a freshman batting leadoff for Arizona State, Spencer Torkelson, and his teammate who pinch-hit that day, Gage Workman.