Happy Birthday to Nomar Garciaparra, one of the game’s greatest Shortstops during the late 1990s and early 2000s, particularly for the Boston Red Sox. As well as playing for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1996-2009):

.313 BA, 1,747 HITS, 229 HR, 936 RBI, 927 RUNS, .361 OBP

• 6x All-Star

• A.L. Rookie of the Year (1997)

• Silver Slugger (1997)

• 2x Batting Champion (1999 & 2000)

During his prime playing in the American League, he was a part of “The Big Three Shortstops” along with Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, who took the game by storm. Nomar developed an excellent reputation for being a great all-around hitter and not striking out a lot. In 2000, he .372, the highest average by a right-handed hitter in the post-war era. He was also the first right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio to win the Batting Title in back-to-back years, 1999 & 2000. The Boston Red Sox and Nomar were a match made in heaven; during his years with the Red Sox, he had six years in which he lit the league on fire offensively. Defensively, at Shortstop, he never won a Gold Glove, but during his years in Boston, he played a lot of Innings, and his Fielding Percentages were up there.

1997-2000 as well as 2002-03, we’re what I would call “Hall of Fame” years for Nomar Garciaparra.

Unfortunately, Injuries robbed him of being a “Hall-of-Fame” player. In 2001, he only played in 21 games due to wrist injuries. From 2004-09, Nomar’s career was interrupted by various other injuries, missing a possible 466 games over those years; he retired after the 2009 season. Many tend to forget that during his peak years when he was healthy, his numbers are among the greatest Shortstops of all time. In 2001, coming off his best season, his agent Scott Boras claimed that he ran a statistical study and said at the rate he was playing that by the time he turned 40, Nomar would have 513 home runs, 3,581 hits, and a lifetime batting average of .336.

References:

1. Nomar Garciaparra Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/garcino01.shtml

2. Nomar Garciaparra via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomar_Garciaparra#