Mike Garcia, part of the Cleveland Indians’ “Big Three” pitching staff during the 1950s, passes away at the age of 62.

Garcia spent 14 years in the Majors, including his first dozen in Cleveland. He debuted with one game of work in 1948, but became a staple in the rotation beginning in 1949 when he went 14-5 and led the league with a 2.36 ERA. He would later win as many as 22 games in the first of his three straight All-Star Game appearances in 1952 and again led the league in ERA in 1954 with a 2.64 mark while helping lead the Indians to a 111-43 record and a trip to the World Series.

Garcia ended his career with a season in Chicago with the White Sox in 1960 and in Washington, D.C. with the Senators in 1961.

Also on this date in Tribe history:

1962 – Kevin Mitchell, a former National League MVP in 1989 who played 20 games for the Indians in 1997, is born in San Diego, California.

1982 – Former Indians player and manager Frank Robinson joins Hank Aaron in election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in their first year on the ballot.