Shortstop, Boston
Red Sox
Age: 24 (July 23)
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’0” Weight: 165
Prior to 1997:
A California
native of Mexican descent, Garciaparra quickly proved in his youth to be
talented in soccer as well as baseball. He excelled at St. John Bosco High
School in Bellflower where he also was kicker on the football team as well as a
member of the soccer team. His
seriousness and intensity earned him the nickname “No-Nonsense Nomar”. Chosen
by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth round of the 1991 amateur draft,
Garciaparra chose to attend college at Georgia Tech. Following an outstanding
freshman season he gained selection to the 1992 US Olympic baseball squad as a
walk-on. He capped his college career in
1994 when Georgia Tech reached the College World Series for the first time and
Garciaparra contributed a .427 average with 16 home runs and 73 RBIs. The Red
Sox chose him with the twelfth overall pick in the first round of the ’94
amateur draft. Garciaparra signed and made his professional debut with Sarasota
of the advanced Class A Florida State League where he batted .295 with 16 RBIs
in 28 games. He also made an impression with his range and throwing arm at
shortstop. His next stop in 1995 was with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA
Eastern League where he hit .267 with 20 doubles, 8 triples, 8 home runs, and
47 RBIs. His fidgety batting ritual drew plenty of inside pitches in response.
In the offseason he went on a major bodybuilding campaign in order to gain
strength and stamina. Garciaparra suffered a knee injury in 1996 that delayed
his progress. Following a brief Rookie League rehab stint, he advanced to Class
AAA Pawtucket of the International League where in 43 games he batted .343 with
16 home runs and 46 RBIs to earn advancement to the Red Sox for the last month
of the season. In 24 games of his first taste of major league action
Garciaparra batted .241 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs. Veteran shortstop John
Valentin was shifted to third base to make room for Garciaparra in the lineup
for 1997.
1997 Season Summary
Appeared in 153
games
SS – 153, PR –
1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 734 [3]
At Bats – 684 [1]
Runs – 122 [2]
Hits – 209 [1]
Doubles – 44 [4]
Triples – 11 [1]
Home Runs – 30
[15, tied with Carlos Delgado, Albert Belle & Chili Davis]
RBI – 98 [20]
Bases on Balls
– 35
Int. BB – 2
Strikeouts – 92
Stolen Bases – 22
[13, tied with Marquis Grissom & Luis Alicea]
Caught Stealing
– 9 [16, tied with Gerald Williams]
Average - .306
[12, tied with John Valentin]
OBP - .342
Slugging Pct. -
.534 [12]
Total Bases – 365
[2]
GDP – 9
Hit by Pitches
– 6
Sac Hits – 2
Sac Flies – 7
League-leading
at bats were +26 ahead of runner-up Brian Hunter
League-leading
hits were +16 ahead of runner-up Rusty Greer
League-leading
triples were +1 ahead of runner-up Chuck Knoblauch
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 13, RBI – 44, AVG - .291, SLG PCT - .485
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Seattle 4/4, (in 4 AB) at Cleveland 4/22, (in 6 AB) at Toronto
6/24, (in 7 AB) at Texas 8/5
Longest hitting
streak – 30 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 5 AB) vs. Baltimore 6/12, (in 4 AB) at Anaheim 8/22, (in 4 AB) at
Milwaukee 9/12
HR at home – 11
HR on road – 19
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 4 at Seattle 4/5, vs. Baltimore 6/12
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 720
Put Outs – 249
Assists – 450
Errors – 21
DP - 113
Pct. - .971
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
All-Star
Silver Slugger
8th
in AL MVP voting (83 points, 21% share)
AL ROY Voting:
Nomar
Garciaparra, Bos.: 140 pts. – 28 of 28 first place votes, 100% share
Jose Cruz,
Sea./Tor.: 61 pts. – 44% share
Jason Dickson,
Ana.: 27 pts. – 19% share
Deivi Cruz,
Det.: 12 pts. – 9% share
Jaret Wright,
Clev.: 7 pts. – 5% share
Mike Cameron,
ChiWS.: 5 pts. – 4% share
---
Red Sox went 78-84
to finish fourth in the AL Eastern Division, 20 games behind the
division-winning Baltimore Orioles while leading the league in hits (1684),
doubles (373), and batting (.291).
Aftermath of ‘97:
Although
briefly sidelined with a shoulder separation in 1998, Garciaparra put together
another strong season in which he batted .323 with 37 doubles, 8 triples, 35
home runs and 122 RBIs for the Wild Card-qualifying Red Sox. He was the AL
batting champion in 1999 despite being hindered by a wrist injury late in the
season with a .357 average to go along with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs. He
repeated as batting champ in 2000, compiling a .372 average along with 51
doubles, 3 triples, 21 home runs, and 96 RBIs. A lingering wrist injury that
required surgery limited Garciaparra to 21 games in 2001, but he bounced back
in 2002 to hit .310 with a league-leading 56 doubles along with 24 home runs
and 120 RBIs. In 2003 he had his fifth All-Star season with the Red Sox,
batting .301 with 37 doubles, 13 triples, 28 home runs, and 105 RBIs. In the
offseason he married women’s soccer star Mia Hamm. With an unsettled contract
situation hanging over him, Garciaparra was hindered by an Achilles heel injury
in 2004 that sidelined him until June. Still swinging a potent bat when he
returned, his range in the field suffered. He was batting .321 when dealt to
the Chicago Cubs at the trade deadline at the end of July as part of a
four-team trade that also involved the Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins.
Boston ultimately received shortstop Orlando Cabrera and first baseman Doug
Mientkiewicz via the complex transaction. Still dealing with the Achilles
injury as well as his chronic wrist problem, Garciaparra hit .297 with just 4
home runs and 20 RBIs the rest of the way for his new team. He signed a
one-year, $8.25 million contract to stay with the Cubs in 2005. A groin tear
sidelined Garciaparra from late April until August. Shifted to third base upon
his return, he batted .283 in a total of 62 games with 12 doubles, 9 home runs,
and 30 RBIs in all. Facing free agency again he signed an incentive-loaded $6
million one-year pact with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Healthy for the first time
in several seasons in 2006 he played at first base and hit .303 with 20 home
runs and 93 RBIs and was an All-Star selection for the first time since 2003. As
a result, he was voted NL Comeback Player of the Year and was re-signed by the
Dodgers. During an injury-plagued 2007 season Garciaparra played at first and
third and batted .283 in 121 games with 17 doubles, 7 home runs, and 59 RBIs. He spent one last injury-abbreviated season
with the Dodgers in 2008 and finished his career with the Oakland Athletics in
2009. Overall for his major league career Garciaparra batted .313 with 1747
hits that included 370 doubles, 52 triples, and 229 home runs. He also compiled
936 RBIs. With the Red Sox he hit .323 with 279 doubles, 50 triples, 178 home
runs, and 690 RBIs. In 32 postseason games he hit .321 with 7 doubles, 1
triple, 7 home runs, and 24 RBIs. He was a six-time All-Star and on five
occasions finished among the top five in league MVP voting. Garciaparra was
inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2014. His #5 was retired by the Class AA Trenton
Thunder.
--
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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