11/05/24
August 28, 2009
Whatever Happened to Nomar Garciaparra?: The Wall Street Journal catches up with Nomar Garciaparra -- the shortstop "once considered the best right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio" -- who at age 36 now has trouble getting at-bats as a utility infielder with the last-place Oakland A's. "The guy can still hit like he always could," said Oakland GM Billy Beane, "it's just a matter of how much we can keep him on the field."
I'm sorry, but Billy Beane is either blind or dumb. Nomar isn't the same hitter he used to be; he's got no drive on his hits and makes less contact than he used to. He's a shell of the same hitther he once was.
posted by dfleming at 10:21 AM on August 28, 2009
I'll start it -- Nomar: steroids? Yes or No?
posted by inigo2 at 10:39 AM on August 28, 2009
For a number of years the Red Sox had Nomar and no more ... They rode him hard. He never really returned to form after an injury and was basically let go.
Also ... If you lived with Mia do you think you'd have any energy left to play baseball ?
posted by cixelsyd at 10:53 AM on August 28, 2009
Inigo2: I don't get the point of your question. Is there something shameful or embarrassing about having a wife who is more accomplished than you are?
posted by rcade at 11:15 AM on August 28, 2009
Nope. Just a light hearted comment about the fact that despite the famous player he was 10 years ago, he has been greatly outshown by his wife. That's all.
posted by inigo2 at 11:58 AM on August 28, 2009
Thanks for clarifying that. I think that even in his prime, Garciaparra might not have been a bigger name than his wife, both sports being equal.
posted by rcade at 12:08 PM on August 28, 2009
I think what happened to Nomar was Al Reyes (good Hardball Times writeup about the Rise and Fall of Nomar).
After those 1999 and 2000 campaigns, Nomar was on his way to being as well known, and as well compensated, as A-Rod has ended up being. His rookie campaign was one of the best ever- All-Star, HR Derby champ, rookie records in hitting, and all as a shorstop. He kept improving, such that by the end of 2000 I was vehemently arguing that Nomar, not A-Rod, was going to be the best shortstop of his generation. A-Rod had more HR power, but Nomar was a far better hitter overall.
Then he got a split tendon in his wrist at the end of the 1999 season from that Al Reyes pitch, and while his 2000 year (.372) was still fantastic, he seems to have dropped off the table after that; occasional flashes, but never what he once was. His wrist has nagged him since then, causing him to miss his 2001 season and while he had 56 doubles in 2002, he was was down in average, etc.
On the whole, he went from a sure-to-be-first-ballot HoF shortstop to utility infielder in his mid-to-late 30's. I think, not unlike Griffey (who also dropped off the table after about 2000), that's an argument against him using steroids: maybe if he were, he'd have repaired better and prolonged his career.
posted by hincandenza at 02:08 PM on August 28, 2009
Nomar is 36. So yes, take away the injuries and he'd probably still be close to the hitter he use to be. And as hincandenza pointed out, we're talking about one unfortunate pitch. Who knows what could have been.
and was basically let go
No. He was traded for Orlando Cabrera who hit .379 with 11 hits against the Yankees in the playoffs.
Billy Beane is either blind or dumb.
Let's go with door number 1 since number 2 is kind of ridiculous.
posted by justgary at 05:38 PM on August 28, 2009
Steroids? Highly unlikely.
In his prime, Nomar was renowned for the consistency in his swing and the contact point of ball on bat. It was said that if you looked at a bat he had used for several games, you would see only one spot where it had contacted the baseball. What got to Nomar was a succession of injuries, a lack of playing time because of the injuries, and a slow deterioration of his hand-eye coordination. Alas, one who could have been a Hall of Fame lock is trying to hang on for a few more games.
posted by Howard_T at 02:44 PM on August 29, 2009
and a slow deterioration of his hand-eye coordination.
You lost me. Why would Nomar have a quicker hand-eye coordination deterioration than any other player? Jeter's doing pretty well and he's only a year younger than Nomar (and Nomar was a better hitter than Jeter). Maybe now, at 36 eye-hand coordination would suffer, but not in his prime. It was injuries, yes, but mainly one injury. I don't think this is even in much doubt, you can basically draw a line down his career at the time of the injury and you have 2 different players. Even when he was playing well, it wasn't the same Nomar.
As far as steroids, he's pretty much at the top of the suspected players list. And his recent interviews, in which he goes on and on without ever saying "I never did steroids" have been bizarre. After hearing his own words, I certainly wouldn't be surprised.
(Nomar says in the interview that some players didn't take the test and said to put them down as positive because they 'wanted' testing implemented. As far as I know MLB as come out and said that's completely false and that it never happened.)
posted by justgary at 12:25 AM on August 30, 2009
You mean Mr. Mia Hamm?