He had good years from 1974 to 1980 with two excellent ones in 1974 when he won the MVP, and another one in 1978. He is also one of the most over-rated players in recent memory. He hit for high average with decent but not exceptional power, particularly considering his position, had no speed and was a solid fielder, but an objective look at his production, compared to the greats of his era, shows him in the good but not excellent category.

Excellent fielding. Over two hundred hits six times when people weren't doing it. .992 fielding percentage. What else is there?

He kinda faded a lot with San Diego, becoming just a pretty good player but was a big star with Los Angeles in the 70's and early 80's, even though I was on the other coast following an A.L. team when I was about 8 and getting into the game, he was one of the big names of baseball that everyone knew, and part of one of the greatest infields of my lifetime. Good power, drove in a lot of runs, and an integral part of a fine team. He kinda reminds me most of Will Clark as far as more recent guys go, though a more famous guy in the context of his time. The ruination of his Captain America type image has perhaps been a part of his decline as far as recognition and appreciation goes.

While he was not my Padre, he was my hero, and one of the best clutch hitters of my generation.

Simply the best first baseman in MLB from '74 to '82. Period. He was the backbone of (and best player on) that Dodger team that was perpetually battling over the NL Pennant with the Big Red Machine. He had more all-star game appearances and his career batting average was approximately 20 points higher than Hall of Famer Tony Perez. Also, Perez never won an NL MVP award as Garvey did in '74. Later in his career Garvey went on to win at least one NLCS MVP award as well.

People hate him because he had the Mr. Clean aura but in time people found out he was more like Shawn Kemp in his personal life. He was a great clutch hitter and a good defensive back a Michigan.