Adrian Garrett: Wayne Garrett's Older Brother (1966 -1976)

Henry Adrian Garrett nicknamed "Smokey" was born on January 3rd, 1943, at Brooksville, Florida. 

He is the older brother of long time Mets infielder, Wayne Garrett & minor leaguer Jimmy Garrett. Thier father was a machine operator Thier mother Ida, a housewife.

The six-foot three left hand hitter played outfield & catcher positions. Adrian was signed by the Milwaukee Braves in 1961.

Mets System: In October of 1963 his contract was purchased by the New York Mets, along with that of Amado Samuel. By June of the next year, the Mets sent him back to Milwaukee as a player to be named later in a trade.

MLB Career: Garrett made his MLB debut with those Braves in 1966. The Braves had now moved the franchise to Atlanta. He would soon get released after playing just four games going 0-3. Garrett was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies & then the Chicago Cubs spending three more years at the minor league level. 

He found himself in the Oakland A's organization in 1971 & 1972 but played just 14 games at the big-league level there, in both seasons combined. He did not make the post season rosters any year.

He got an invitation to Spring Training from the Chicago Cubs & found himself back on their roster from 1973-1975. There, when traveling on the road, his roommate was Tony Larussa.

Key Hit to Beat his Brothers Mets: On June 29th, 1973, in a game against his brother & the New York Mets, Adrian homered off Tom Seaver in the 7th inning, breaking a 1-1 tie. He helped the Cubs in a 4-3 win at Wrigley Field.

In 1974 he spent most of the year at AAA, playing in just 10 Cubs games. Overall, he batted .286 as a pinch hitter, leading the team in that category. In May of 1975, he hit a three run HR off the San Diego Padres Dan Spillner, leading his Cubs to a 3-2 win.

In July 1975 his contract was sold to the California Angels. On September 22nd, 1975, he hit a 15th inning, three run HR off Rich Gossage to win a game against the Chicago White Sox. 

After his brief, yet productive 1975 stint with the Angels, he was called "the Angels' most explosive hitter" in the Angels 1976 media guide. Unfortunately, he played in just 29 games with no HRs three RBIs & a .125 average.

After the 1976 season, he retired from the major leagues. In an eight-year career, he hit just .185 with 51 hits in 276 at bats, 11 HRs 8 doubles & 37 RBIs.

Baseball in Japan: After his MLB run, he went to play in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp from 1977-1979. There he had a fine career hitting 102 HRs averaging a HR every 12.8 at bats. 

He hit 40 HRs in his first year, the fifth foreigner to hit as many. His 15 HRs in April tied legend, Sadaharu Oh's monthly record for HRs. 

Garrett made the All-Star team, hitting three HRs in that game winning the MVP Award.

In 1979 he helped his team win the Nippon Series, being part of the "Red Helmet Lineup" that was the heart of the first Japan team to total 200 HRs.

Retirement: After his playing days he was a longtime successful minor league coach with the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Florida Marlins & Cincinnati Reds, helping to develop many future MLB players such as Cliff Floyd, Joey Votto, Daryl Boston, Ron Karkovice & Jay Bruce. 

He since has retired, last doing the role of a Spring Training instructional hitting coach. 

Family: Adrian & his wife Linda, lived in Austin Texas. Their son, Jason Garrett played minor league baseball at the A ball level from 1995-1998.

Trivia: In his pro baseball career, he has hit over 400 HRs but only 11 of them came in the Major Leagues.

Passing: Adrian passed away while suffering from pneumonia on April 22nd, 2021, in Kyle Texas. He was 78 years old.