Adolis García, who once famously stumbled to help the Brewers win division, has come a long way

For Milwaukee Brewers fans, Adolis García might already be a forgotten footnote, but he played a role in the Brewers winning the National League Central in 2018.

In 2023, García is now Most Valuable Player of the American League Championship Series, having driven in an astonishing 12 runs over the past three games alone, 15 in the series overall and at least one in each of his past six games. An 11-4 win over Houston on Monday clinched a 4-3 series win for the Texas Rangers and advanced them on to the World Series.

The 2023 Brewers went 3-0 against the Rangers this year, including a win over ALCS Game 7 starter Max Scherzer.

García has homered in four straight games, including twice Monday, with five homers overall in the series. His grand slam in Game 6 broke open an otherwise close game and helped the Rangers win all four road games in Houston.

More: Abreu, Baker, García ejected from ALCS Game 5 as benches clear

García, 30, was dealt to the Rangers in December 2019, purchased from the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations. At the time, García had just hit 32 home runs for Class AAA Memphis, but St. Louis needed a 40-man roster spot for Kwan-Hyun Kim, a left-handed pitcher from Korea signing as a free agent.

The famous fall that helped Milwaukee win the Central

In 2018, García had just 17 at-bats in his rookie year, collecting two hits. But on Sept. 26, his task was to pinch run against Milwaukee, with the Brewers one victory away from a clinched playoff berth. Matt Carpenter had walked against Josh Hader with two outs in the eighth, and manager Craig Counsell called on Jeremy Jeffress to face slugger Jose Martinez and try to preserve Milwaukee's 2-1 lead, while García ran for Carpenter.

Martinez chopped a ball weakly down the third-base line, but Mike Moustakas threw the ball away trying to rush a heave over to first, and García kept motoring around third base but stumbled and fell, allowing Hernán Pérez to throw home and catcher Erik Kratz to retire García easily at the dish. Pérez said later he felt they would have gotten the runner at home regardless, but it's hard to tell for sure.

Milwaukee went on to win the game and lock up a playoff spot. The Brewers also won their final three games of the year at home against Detroit setting up a one-game playoff with the Cubs to determine the National League Central title. The Brewers won that game and eventually faced the Dodgers in the NLCS.

"The kid's giving you everything he's got; it's just unfortunate he fell," Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said afterward.

Five years later, García is one that got away, and not the first one, for the St. Louis Cardinals. The 2020 ALCS MVP, Randy Arozarena, was traded from St. Louis to the Rays in 2020 along with the aforementioned José Martínez for Matthew Liberatore and other considerations. Arozarena has blossomed into a star with the Rays.

The Nelson Cruz path to stardom

But there's a twist in García's story that should be familiar to Brewers fans. In early 2021, shortly after he was acquired, he was designated for assignment, meaning any team could have claimed him on waivers. With no takers, he was invited to Rangers spring training as a non-roster invitee and then added to the active roster in April. He wound up named to the all-star game that season, the first of two selections (along with this year).

That's a similar path to Nelson Cruz, famously traded by the Brewers to Texas along with Carlos Lee in 2006 for a package that included Francisco Cordero, Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix. Cruz had just turned 26, but he didn't make the Rangers roster before the 2008 season and was designated for assignment; again, any team could have claimed him. But he returned to the Rangers, figured some things out, and went on to become a seven-time all-star, himself an ALCS MVP in 2011 — the last time Texas went to the World Series — and a four-time Silver Slugger.

Cardinals fans are also surely also lamenting the success of Zac Gallen, who was traded to the Marlins along with future Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara and others in a deal that brought Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. The Marlins traded Gallen to the Diamondbacks in 2019 for Jazz Chisholm.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ALCS MVP Adolis García once stumbled to help Brewers win Central title