Despite never being known as a great outfielder, Ralph Garr managed to have himself a nice 13-year playing career in the Majors, four of which involved time with the Chicago White Sox.
While his prowess in the field might have left something to be desired, Garr’s ability to recognize talent when he sees it has paid off in his post-playing days as he was recently recognized as one of baseball’s top scouts for 2021.
The 77-year-old Garr was one of several men honored recently for their work at the 37th annual awards event for scouts that was held in Las Vegas. Louie Eljaua was named International Scout of the Year while others receiving awards included Jeff Brookens of the Cincinnati Reds and retired Pittsburgh Pirates scout Jesse Flores.
Former Director of Operations for the Giants in the Dominican, Pablo Peguero, was posthumously honored with the 2020 International Scout of the Year Award for 2020 due to the event being canceled as a result of the pandemic.
Ralph Garr is one of the great scouts in his post-Chicago White Sox days.
Following his retirement from baseball in 1981, Garr was contacted by former teammate Hank Aaron who was working as the vice-president of player development for the Braves. He offered Garr a job as a part-time coach and scout, which turned into full-time duties covering Texas in 1987.
Garr was credited with signing Micah Bowie and Chris Seelbach during his time in that role before getting promoted to a special assignment role in 2019.
Garr made his debut in 1968 with the Braves and spent eight years with the team. In 1974, he made his only All-Star appearance when he led the National League with a .353 batting average, a league-high 214 hits, and a major league-leading 17 triples.
His 11 triples the following year led the NL before he was traded to the White Sox in 1976. A career .317 hitter in Atlanta, Garr did well at the plate for the Southsiders by hitting .291 during his time, including back-to-back .300 years his first two seasons with the club.
He was the first hitter to bat against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. Fielding was always an issue for Garr, however, as he was in the top four in errors committed by a leftfielder six times, and five times was top five in errors committed by an outfielder.
Nicknamed “Roadrunner” because of his great speed, Garr was elected to the Braves Hall of Fame in 2006 and went into the International League Hall of Fame two years later. Now, he is one of the great scouts in the game and deserves this recognition for it.