Teams are Begging for ‘No More No-mah’
Dan Mohrmann
The front office of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs must be confused. Nomar Garciaparra was tagged as the leader of the Red Sox and the centerpiece of the World Series they were supposed to win.
The trade that sent Nomar to the Cubs was one of the moves that helped the Red Sox finally break the curse of the Bambino. Now a Cub, Nomar was supposed to be a savior in Chicago. Cubs fans were disappointed when constant injuries not only limited Nomar’s playing time, but seemed to dull down his abilities.
Before the 2006 season began, Nomar decided that he need to make a few changes in order to be the effective player he was when he won the 1997 Rookie of the Year. First was the issue that he was losing his ability to play shortstop. Feeling he could still play the infield, Nomar decided to switch to first base, a position that does not see as many ground balls as the shortstop. Next, he decided to get out of Chicago and make a name for himself in a new environment.
Los Angeles seemed to be a good fit as the Dodgers were going under a serious renovation. Nomar was the perfect choice to fill the hole at first base for the Dodgers and thus far, everything has worked out for both parties. Right now Nomar is leading the National League with a .362 batting average. He is also No. 7 in slugging percentage (.590) and No. 6 in on-base percentage (.424).
To cap everything off, the Dodgers are only 1 ½ games back of first place in the National League West. A year ago at this time they were 6 ½ back and on their way to a 71-91 finish which was good enough for second worst in the division. The Dodgers are already more than halfway to last year’s win total and Nomar is a big part of it.
Despite a brief stint on the disabled list early in the season, he has stayed healthy and proven how valuable he can be when he is able to take the field. At the pace he’s going he is going to hit 25 homeruns, rack up 116 RBI’s and score 113 runs. Those are numbers that a team would love to have in every player. They show that he can come through when he needs to, but at the Dodgers’ pace it also shows that the team is not relying entirely on him.
Nomar’s always been talked about as a team player. The ultimate team player is someone who can get the job done, but make others better in the process. Nomar showed that early in his career when he was with Boston. As he got hurt, so did his ability to make the team better. He never really settled in the windy city, which may be a factor for the Cubs’ continuing woes. LA has certainly been a breath of fresh air for Nomar and vice-versa. With a couple of supporting cast members, Nomar might be able to make the LA Dodgers a World Series caliber team.