Nomar Garciaparra
| Nomar Garciaparra | |
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 Nomar Garciaparra in June 2006
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| Shortstop | |
| Born: July 23, 1973 in Whittier , United States 
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| Strikes: Right | Throws: Right |
| Debut in Major League Baseball | |
| August 31, 1996 with the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB assignment | |
| October 4, 2009 at the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics (until end of career) |
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| Batting average | , 313 |
| Home runs | 229 |
| Runs Batted In | 936 |
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| Awards | |
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Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (born July 23, 1973 in Whittier , California , USA ) is a retired American baseball player . Garciaparra was most recently an infielder at the Oakland Athletics . Before that, he played for many years as a shortstop and third baseman with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs . Garciaparra's unusual first name Nomar is the backward reading name ( Ananym ) of his father Ramon.
Garciaparra is married to Mia Hamm , an Olympic soccer champion and world champion . The couple has had twin girls since March 27, 2007.
Major League Baseball career
Boston Red Sox (1994-2004)
Garciaparra was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 1994 draft and was to stay in Massachusetts for a good 10 years . At the beginning Garciaparra had the then star shortstop of the Red Sox John Valentin and came to few missions, this changed in the course of the 1996 season, in which Garciaparra was allowed to take the position due to his talent. Valentin gave up the shortstop position in favor of the young talent and subsequently played at second base (later at third). In the 1997 season, which was his official rookie season , Garciaparra brought it to 30 home runs and 98 runs batted in , which earned him a new MLB record in the RBIs category of a leadoff hitter . He was consequently voted Rookie of the Year at the end of the season . He was also eighth in the MVP voting. Garciaparra was quickly able to play her way into the hearts of the Red Sox fans and became a crowd favorite.
In the period from 1998 to 2000 Garciaparra developed into an above-average batsman. In 1998 he finished the season with 35 homers and 122 RBIs. In the following two years he led the statistics of the batting average . Specifically, it brought it to .357 (35.7%) in 1999 and .372 (37.2%) in 2000.
In February 2001, Garciaparra appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated . This is considered one of the greatest awards for an athlete in the USA. In the same year he had to cancel the season due to a wrist injury. At the beginning of the 2002 season Garciaparra was convalescent again and brought it to 120 runs and led the statistics of the doubles with 56. However, he still had problems with his defensive game. In addition, the performance in the field average steadily decreased.
Garciaparra's end in Boston
Before the 2002 season, a new group of owners took over the Red Sox. Those responsible in the sporting area saw a clear need for improvement both in the batting average and in the defensive. These were the two areas where Garciaparra had been mining heavily in previous years. During the contract negotiations between Garciaparra and the Red Sox, credible rumors were already circulating that the player would get a new four-year contract worth $ 60 million. However, that deal fell through during 2003.
The 2003 season, in which Garciaparra showed a solid but unspectacular performance, ended with a miserable September, in which he came close to his negative records. With a beating average of .301 (30.1%), it was well below what we were used to. In the playoffs, Garciaparra did not deliver a home run and only a single RBI. He also suffered ten strikeouts in twelve games.
New cult stars of the Red Sox like David Ortiz or Kevin Millar took on responsibility and called for a more team-oriented baseball sport without the big stars. These leading figures, including Garciaparra, became increasingly isolated.
After the 2003 season, an imminent move from Garciaparra to the Texas Rangers had become public. The deal, however, fell through when the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) did not approve the contract of the planned replacement shortstop Alex Rodríguez . Garciaparra came back to Boston in 2004. This was the final season of the contract he signed in 1997.
Garciaparra missed three months of the 2004 season due to an Achilles tendon injury after being hit by a foul ball in spring training . Many critics accused him of exaggerating the severity of the injury and artificially prolonging his time-out because he was angry that Boston was desperate to get rid of him and was now offering $ 12 million a year instead of $ 15 million. Garciaparra announced that it would not be available in August and September either. Management then decided to sign a new shortstop for the ailing Red Sox.
Short career with the Cubs
On July 31, 2004, on the last day of the transfer period, Garciaparra moved from Boston to the Chicago Cubs . In an address to the media, Garciaparra settled the accounts again with those responsible for the Red Sox. In the same year, the Red Sox then won the World Series without Garciaparra .
In the 2005 season, Garciaparra was hit again by bad luck with injuries. A hernia made it impossible to play. It was not until August 5, 2005 that he was back in the active squad of the Cubs. Due to an injury to third baseman Aramis Ramírez , Garciaparra temporarily played at third base. This was only the second time in his career that he had not played as a shortstop. This was only the case before in his very first MLB game when he was playing at second base.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2006-2008)
In 2006, Garciaparra returned to his hometown and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers . There he met many old friends from Boston, such as the players Bill Mueller and Derek Lowe or the manager Grady Little.
In order to minimize the risk of injury he now played at first base. Garciaparra went without injury for the first time since 2003 and was able to regain his offensive strength. His defensive performance at first base was also impressive. In 588.2 innings he only caused one error . In addition, in 2006 he was elected to the All-Star Team for the sixth time. In the second half of the season, however, Garciaparra was thrown back from minor injuries and his statistics went downhill.
On October 7, 2006 Garciaparra was voted Comeback Player of the Year . On November 20, 2006, the Garciaparra contract was extended to 2008. The value of the contract is $ 18.5 million.
Oakland Athletics (2009-2010)
For the 2009 season, Garciaparra signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics . On the one hand, he should reinforce the offensive, which was very weak in the preseason. On the other hand, Garciaparra is very versatile throughout the infield and is intended to enable injury-prone players such as Eric Chavez to take breaks from play.
resignation
On March 10, 2010, Garciaparra signed a one-day contract with the Boston Red Sox to resign as a player on the team. He has been working for the TV channel ESPN since then .
Trivia
- Garciaparra always wears the number 5. The exception was his first game for the Cubs, in which he wore the 8, as catcher Michael Barrett already wore the 5 on the jersey. He and Barrett then swapped numbers.
- Garciaparra is a six-time all-star (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006).
- Garciaparra received a World Series championship ring as a member of the Boston Red Sox from 2004, although he changed clubs during the season.
- Garciaparra holds the unofficial record of most home runs and the highest batting average for a player on his birthday.
- On November 22nd, 2003 Garciaparra married the women's soccer legend Mia Hamm .
- His brother Michael Garciaparra is also a baseball player. He plays with the Tacoma Rainiers , a farm team of the Seattle Mariners .
Web links
- Player information and statistics from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or The Baseball Cube (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Garciaparra, Nomar |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Garciaparra, Anthony Nomar (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 23rd July 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Whittier , California , USA |