Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra signed a 1 day minor league contract with the Red Sox so he could retired today as a member of the Red Sox. Not an uncommon occurrence; and I kind of like it.
He was a great player while he was in Boston and on the fast track to the hall of fame, but got cut down by injuries and was never quite the same after leaving the Red Sox in 2004.
He was one of my all time favorite players and there’s been a gaping hole at shortstop in Boston ever since his departure. In the 6 years since then they’ve been through: Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Rentaria, Pokey Reese, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Nick Green, Jed Lowrie and (currently) Marco Scutaro.
Since Scutaro is on a 2 year contract, we probably have at least 3 more years of watching the middle infield search for that mid-season chemistry.
Hall of Fame?
Is Nomar a Hall of Famer? My gut reaction is no because of all the injuries, but let’s look at the stats anyway…
| Career | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Years | 1,434 | 5,586 | 1,747 | 229 | 936 | .313 | .361 | .521 |
Let’s compare that to a couple Hall of Fame Shortstops:
Phil Rizzuto
| Career | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Years | 1,661 | 5,816 | 1,588 | 38 | 563 | .273 | .351 | .355 |
Robin Yount
| Career | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Years | 2,856 | 11,008 | 3,142 | 251 | 1,406 | .285 | .342 | .430 |
Nomar Garciaparra was the unanimous 1997 American League Rookie of the Year, finished second in MVP voting in 1998, and won batting titles in 1999 and 2000. The finest all-around shortstop in the American League in the mid-1990s and early 2000s
The Baseball Page
Nomar also ranks in the top 20 all time for shortstops according to The Baseball Page.
I’m not saying whether he should be in the Hall of Fame 5 years from now or not, but looking at the stats, comparing them to the other SS who have been inducted, coupling that with 2 batting titles, a ROY and 6 all star selections, it’s easy to make the case for him as he was a dominant force in the middle infield while he was in his prime.
As long as the “steroid era” stigma passes over Nomar’s stats, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Cooperstown some day.
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