"Farewell to Luis Garcia, Babysitter" - Hilarious Luis Garcia memes flood Twitter after pitcher's new windup debut

Houston Astros starting pitcher Luis Garcia debuted his new shortened windup in a spring training game against the New York Mets on Tuesday.

With the new MLB regulations coming into force this season, Garcia and the Astros coaching staff seem to have spent time on the training ground perfecting a simpler windup.

Garcia's previous and significantly lengthier windup was quite aptly nicknamed "Rock the Baby." While Astros fans enjoyed Garcia's theatrics, it was not very popular among other fanbases. Many expressed annoyance at Garcia's previous windup once news of the new MLB restrictions in 2023, including the new balk rules and pitch clock, hit social media.

However, in the wake of Luis Garcia seemingly moving on from his old pitching action for good, MLB fans were quick to "pay their respects" on Twitter.

Here are some of the best reactions to Luis Garcia changing his windup:

"Farewell to Luis Garcia, Babysitter"

"Luis Garcia with a generic windup that you could buy at any American WalMart. I am sad."

"We used to be a country. A real country"

"with the pitch clock forcing certain pitchers to adapt, people want to know: since he can't, who will rock luis garcia's baby? I found a couple."

"Baseball = Life. Babies grow up…one day they no longer need to be rocked"

"Luis Garcia hearing about the pitch clock"

How did Luis Garcia fare with his new windup?

Luis Garcia #77 of the Houston Astros warms up during the fifteenth inning against the Seattle Mariners in game three of the American League Division Series at T-Mobile Park on October 15, 2022 in Seattle, Washington.

While fans were unsure what impact the new windup would have on Garcia's output, the starting pitcher allayed those fears with a solid performance against the Mets. He threw a pair of shutout innings, struck out four batters and allowed a single hit in Houston's 8-4 win.

Garcia's form will be pivotal going into next season, as the Astros aim to become the first team since the New York Yankees of the late '90s to win back-to-back World Series titles.