Garrett Thomas Richards (born May 27, 1988) is a pitcher for the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball. He is 6 feet 3 inches tall. He formerly played in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, and Boston Red Sox.
Richards lettered four years at Edmond Memorial High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. His best season was in 2005 when he went 8–5, had a 2.97 ERA, and struck out 106 batters. The team won regional championships in 2005 and 2006.
Richards attended the University of Oklahoma and played collegiate baseball for the Oklahoma Sooners after being undrafted out of high school. In his first year, 2007, he has nine saves, the fourth-most in team history.
That summer, he was a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League’s Cotuit Kettleers. He made his first college start in 2008. He spent the summer with the Alaska Baseball League’s Mat-Su Miners. Richards led the club in strikeouts (85) and victories (9) as a full-time starter in 2009.
Richards leads the league with four- and two-seam fastballs in the mid-90s (tops out at 99) with running movement. He also boasts a left-handed changeup, a right-handed slider, and a curveball.
Richards’ fastball is unusual, according to Joe Girardi, former manager of the New York Yankees, since “its movement… is not constant.” He topped the MLB in average spin rate for sliders (2919 rpm) and curveballs in 2018. (3253 rpm).