Garciaparra, Nomar (1973–)

Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a major league baseball player who captivated Boston Red Sox fans with his stellar play and gained fame as one of the best-hitting shortstops of his era.

Of Mexican descent, Garciaparra was born in Whittier, California, on July 23, 1973. He attended Georgia Tech University, where he starred for that school's 1994 NCAA championship team. He was signed shortly afterward by the Red Sox and made his major league debut with the club in 1996. His 30 home runs, 98 runs batted in (RBIs), league-leading 209 hits, and .306 batting average earned him American League Rookie of the Year honors for 1997. At one point in that season he established an American League record for rookies when he hit in 30 straight games. The following year he ripped 35 home runs and accumulated 122 RBIs. In 1999 and 2000 he won consecutive batting crowns with averages of .357 and .372. Injuries dogged him thereafter, however, and in 2004 the Red Sox dealt him to the Chicago Cubs where, in the span of two seasons, he played slightly more than 100 games at shortstop and third base, and produced little for that club. Two years later he signed to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, near his hometown. The Dodgers, as a means to protect the fragile infielder, assigned him to play largely first base, and in 2006 he responded by contributing a .303 batting average with 20 home runs and 93 RBIs. The following year his average declined slightly to .283. Garciaparra is married to Mia Hamm, the soccer star.

See alsoSports .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wendel, Tim. The New Face of Baseball: The One-Hundred-Year Rise and Triumph of Latinos in America's Favorite Sport. New York: Rayo, 2003.

                                  Samuel O. Regalado