What Is Steve Garvey's Net Worth and Salary?
Steve Garvey is a former American professional baseball player and businessman who has a net worth of $1 million. Steve Garvey is probably most famous for his career as a first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1969 to 1982 and for the San Diego Padres from 1983 to 1987. He was the NL MVP in 1974, a 10-time All-Star, and he holds the National League record for consecutive games played (1,207). Garvey is a member of both the Irish American Hall of Fame and the Michigan State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1988, he launched Garvey Communications, a company involved in television production, including infomercials. He has hosted "Baseball's Greatest Games" and has done motivational speaking for corporations. In October 2023, Steve announced that he was running as a Republican in the 2024 California Senate race. He finished second in the "jungle primary" in March 2024, behind Rep. Adam Schiff, advancing to the general election. Garvey also won a partial term Senate special election primary at the time to replace Democrat Laphonza Butler.
Financial Problems
Over the years Steve has experienced a number of financial problems and has been the subject of multiple liens on his property. In various court filings dating back to the early 2000s, he has claimed to be deeply in debt. He has blamed his financial problems on a "combination of tax liabilities, financial support for his nine children… and costly legal battles over business and personal affairs." One of Garvey's former attorneys who was allegedly owed $235,000 described him as "once a Dodger, always a dodger." Steve remained on the Dodgers payroll decades after retiring to perform public appearances and television commentary, however at one point it was reported that half of his analyst paycheck was being garnished to pay spousal support.
In a 1996 court declaration, Steve claimed he had suffered a "financial disaster," resulting in nearly $1 million owed in back taxes. In the same declaration he claimed to owe his ex-wife $10,000, his wife's parents $40,000 and a former accountant $40,000.
In 1999 Steve earned $900,000 in speaking fees alone.
Unfortunately, Steve's tax issues have not gone away. During his 2024 Senate campaign, it was disclosed that Steve still owes between $350,000 and $750,000 in state and federal taxes. The disclosure further showed that Steve pays an 8% interest on the debt. The disclosure also reported that Garvey earns between $65,000 and $135,000 per year, mostly from his MLB pension.
Real Estate
Within just a few years of that 1996 "financial disaster" declaration, in March 2000, Steve bought a 115-acre property in Park City, Utah called "The Boulders." The estate, which had been listed for $8 million prior to his purchase, features a 14,000-square-foot log cabin-style mansion with nine bedrooms, media room lap pool and caretaker's apartment. By mid-2003 Garvey was reportedly so overdue on his power bill that the utility company showed up to shut off the lights. It's unclear what ultimately happened with the estate, but Garvey does not appear to be the owner anymore. It was listed for sale in 2019 for $16 million. Here is a video tour:
In 2006, Garvey paid $550,000 for 5,037-square-foot home in Palm Desert, California, featuring four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Today this home is worth an estimated $2.5 million.
Salary & Career Earnings
During his career, Steve earned around $10 million in salary. His highest-paid season was 1983 when he earned $1.85 million from the Padres. Earning $1.85 million in 1983 is the same as earning around $6 million today. In February 2000, a federal appeals court awarded Garvey a $3 million pension fund payment after it was determined he was a victim of collusion on the part the league's team owners.
Early Life
Steve Garvey was born Steven Patrick Garvey on December 22, 1948, in Tampa, Florida. His heritage is Irish-American on his dad's side. Steve served as a batboy for the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, and Detroit Tigers from 1956 to 1961 during spring training. Garvey attended George D. Chamberlain High School, graduating in 1966. Future Major Leaguers Mike Eden and Tom Walker were Steve's teammates at Chamberlain.
College Career
After high school, Garvey enrolled at Michigan State University, where he played both football and baseball. At the age of 17, he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1966 amateur draft but chose to attend college instead. While playing for MSU, Steve recorded 30 tackles, and in 1967, he lettered as a defensive back. On the baseball team, a grand-slam home run resulted from Garvey's very first at-bat, and the ball landed in the Red Cedar River. After beginning his professional baseball career, Steve kept working toward his degree, and he earned a Bachelor of Science in health and physical education in 1971. In 2009, he was named the Michigan State Baseball Distinguished Alumnus of the Year, and he was inducted into the school's hall of fame the following year. His #10 jersey was retired in 2014.
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Professional Career
In the first round of the 1968 MLB draft, Garvey was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers. His professional debut took place on September 1, 1969, when he was 20 years old. In 1970, Steve began playing third base for the team, and he was switched to first base in 1973. During his time on the Dodgers, he played in the All-Star Game every year from 1974 to 1981. In 1974, he was named the National League MVP, and he had his first 200-hit season, a feat he would achieve five more times. He hit four home runs during the 1978 National League Championship Series and earned the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award. Garvey stayed with the Dodgers until 1982, playing in more than 1,700 games and hitting 211 home runs. From 1974 to 1977, Steve won the Gold Glove Award every year, and he received the Roberto Clemente Award in 1981. He was in the top 10 for the voting for the NL MVP Award five times.
In late 1982, Steve signed a five-year, $6.6 million contract with the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers kept his former number, 6, out of circulation until 2003. During his first season with the Padres, Garvey broke the NL record for consecutive games played, earning him a spot on the cover of "Sports Illustrated," which dubbed him baseball's "Iron Man." In 1984, he became the MLB's only first baseman to play in 150 or more games without committing any errors. That year he won another National League Championship Series MVP award when the Padres defeated the Chicago Cubs to win their first-ever National League pennant. Steve played for the Padres until May 1987, and he scored 272 home runs in the 2,332 games he played with the team.
Personal Life
Steve married Cynthia Truhan on October 27, 1971, when he was 22 years old. They had daughters Whitney and Krisha together before Cynthia left Steve for composer Marvin Hamlisch. Unbeknownst to Truhan at the time, Garvey was having an affair with his secretary before Cynthia left him. Steve and Cynthia divorced in 1983, and when she refused to let him see their daughters, Garvey sued her and won, despite the fact that the children testified that they didn't want to see him. During the summer of 1988, Garvey found out that Cheryl Moulton was pregnant with his baby (who would be named Ashleigh), but Steve proposed to Rebecka Mendenhall a few months later, telling her then about Moulton. Mendenhall discovered that she was pregnant in early 1989, and Garvey ended their engagement. Their son, Slade, was born in October 1989. Steve told "Sports Illustrated" of the situation, "I was led to believe I wasn't responsible for birth control. It was a communications situation there." The same month he ended his engagement to Mendenhall, Garvey became engaged to interior decorator Candace Thomas. The couple married on February 18, 1989, and they have welcomed three children together.
Honors
In 1978, a school in Lindsay, California, was named Steve Garvey Junior High School, and in 1981, Steve was featured in the Donald Honig and Lawrence Ritter book "The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time." The Padres retired Garvey's #6 jersey in 1988, and Michigan State retired his #10 jersey in 2014. Steve has been inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame (2009), Irish American Hall of Fame (2009), and Michigan State University Athletics Hall of Fame (2010), and in 2019, he was chosen for the inaugural class of "Legends of Dodger Baseball."
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