Shortstop
Nomar Garciaparra (with Red Sox from 1996-2004)
.323/.370/.553, 966 G, 4345 PA, 133 OPS+ (with Red Sox)
The way Nomar Garciaparra’s career fizzled out after he left the Red Sox can make it difficult for some people to remember just how incredible he was for a half-decade stretch in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1997, following in the footsteps of the 1996 winner, Derek Jeter. The trio of Jeter, Garciaparra, and A-Rod were a trifecta of greatness at the shortstop position in the American League.
Nomar followed his Rookie of the Year season with a 111-run, 35-homer, 122-RBI season in 1998 that saw him finish second in the league in MVP voting. This was an ugly year in MVP voting. Juan Gonzalez won the award even though there were 14 players who were worth more wins above replacement than he was, including Nomar Garciaparra. Of course, Nomar was fourth in the league, behind A-Rod, Roger Clemens, and Derek Jeter.
The 1999 and 2000 seasons saw Garciaparra hit .357 and .372, leading the league both years. His .372 average in 2000 was the highest in the American League since George Brett’s .390 average in 1980 and the highest by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939.
Before the 2001 season, agent Scott Boras ran a statistical study that predicted Nomar would finish his career with 3,581 hits, 513 home runs, and a .336 career batting average (the study was done for Boras client Alex Rodriguez, but included other players). Unfortunately, Garciaparra aggravated a wrist injury in spring training and played in only 21 games, which would be a pre-cursor to more injuries later in his career.
Garciaparra came back from the wrist injury to play in 156 games in each of the next two seasons. He hit .305/.349/.526 and averaged 110 runs, 26 homers, and 112 RBI. Everything should have been great in Beantown but nothing is ever that simple in Boston. The Red Sox tried to acquire Alex Rodriguez in the off-season after 2013 and, predictably, this didn’t sit well with Nomar.
Heading into his final year before free agency, Nomar suffered an Achilles injury that caused him to miss the first 57 games of the 2004 season. He hit well when he returned (.321/.367/500 in 38 games) but the injury would require more days off than usual and was believed to lead to a big downgrade in his defense. This led to the Red Sox trading Garciaparra and minor league outfielder Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz at the trade deadline.
The trade was shocking to the players. Johnny Damon said, “We just traded away Mr. Boston, a guy that meant so much to the city, and just like that, he’s gone.” The Red Sox went on to win their first World Series since 1918 and the players voted to give Nomar a World Series ring and three-fourths of a playoff share (worth $167,715).
After leaving Boston, Garciaparra would play five more years with three different teams, but he never got back to being the player he’d once been. Over those final five seasons, he averaged just 85 games played per year and hit .287/.338/.440.