Let's Remember Nomar
As the discussion of baseball’s new pitch clock continues during Spring Training, it was probably inevitable that Nomar Garciaparra’s ritual before every pitch would eventually be mentioned. For those who don’t remember it, here’s a refresher:
It really was glorious to behold.
I guess I understand that all that movement and delay is an easy target for people who want to make the point that the new clock rules will impact some hitters’ rituals. That said, this seems to be a poor example.
Yes, Nomar had a lot of little tics and adjustments, but he actually accomplished them in a pretty short amount of time. From the point he starts his glove and wristband adjustments to the point he finishes and has both feet in the batter’s box and his head facing the pitcher, maybe 4 or 5 seconds has elapsed. That puts him at 10 or 11 seconds left on the pitch clock, in full compliance with the new rules that forces him to be ready with 8 seconds left.
All of those toe taps and bat twirls happen with both feet in the box and him “alert” to the pitcher, which is perfectly legal under the new rules. Sure, a pitcher might force him to shorten some of that if they start their motion as soon as he’s in the box, but it doesn’t seem he’d have to modify very much of that. His routine compressed a lot of motion into only a few seconds.
Still, Nomar’s routine being invoked has given folks a chance to recall his career, and ask an old question again:
The key to that question, of course, is “prime.” Jeter quite clearly had the better career. He’s in the Hall of Fame, and should be. He’s one of the best 4 or 5 shortstops in the history of the sport.
But Nomar had a better prime.
I mean, sorry, but it’s just true. Nomar’s prime was 1997 through 2003, and then injuries completely derailed his career. Even one of his prime seasons, 2001, was almost completely washed out by an injury to his wrist. But, when he was healthy, he was simply a better player than Jeter. Don’t take my word for it, here are their stats for those years:
On a per-162 game basis, it looks even worse for Jeter:
And that’s just offense. Defensively, they were night any day. Jeter posted a horrific -82 Fielding Runs during these years, while Nomar was at +43. Jeter’s range factor during these years started at 4.41 per game and dropped gradually to 3.64 by the end of this period. It was below the league average every single year. Nomar’s, on the other hand, started at 4.57 and barely moved. By 2003, it was still at 4.31, and he was over or around the league average every year.
When the offensive gap between them is added to the defensive gap, Nomar posted 41.1 WAR during this time while Jeter posted just 37.5, despite Nomar playing 136 fewer games due to that 2001 injury. On a per-162 game basis, Nomar’s WAR during these years was 7.4 to Jeter’s 5.8, a gap of over 25%.
Their peers, the fans, and the writers all recognized that Nomar was a bit better. Both players made 5 All-Star teams during these years, but only because Garciaparra was inexplicably left off the 1998 team despite posting a year that saw him finish 2nd in the league in MVP voting. Speaking of which, Nomar’s six healthy seasons during this span saw him finish 8th, 2nd, 7th, 9th, 11th and 7th in MVP voting, while Jeter, in those same seasons, finished 24th, 3rd, 6th, 10th, No Votes, and 21st.
So which of them had a better prime is pretty easy to answer. It was Nomar, no question. The more interesting question, in my view, is whether Nomar’s prime should be enough to warrant election to the Hall of Fame.
The voters of the BBWAA looked at that question and resoundingly answered “No.” He appeared on the ballot for the first time in 2015, and got just 30 votes. The next year his total dropped to 8, and his time on the ballot came to an inglorious end.
But I’m not sure it should have. Players have been elected with lesser résumés than Nomar’s, and with a peak nearly as short. For instance, here’s the career stats of four shortstops. Tell me which one was the Hall of Famer:
Maybe it will help if I add the advanced stats too:
I’ll give you a hint - the third guy on the list is Nomar. I’ll give you another hint - This is a trick question. All three of the other guys are in the Hall of Fame. They are, in order, Phil Rizzuto, Travis Jackson, and Hughie Jennings.
Now, I’m not saying that Nomar should be elected because he’s got a better case than these three, but I am saying he’s definitely got a case, one that is better than a few guys at his own position who managed to get elected.
Short career peaks have not barred players from being elected in the past, even if the peak is as short as six seasons. The most obvious example is Sandy Koufax, but you don’t need to look at anyone who was THAT dominant during their peak. In fact, you don’t have to go back any further than 2022 to find a guy who was elected to the Hall of Fame on the strength of a high-peak career that was cut short by chronic injuries. Here’s Nomar’s average 162-game peak season compared to Tony Oliva’s:
Seems pretty comparable to me. Throw in the fact that Nomar accomplished this as a shortstop and you get a gap in their WAR totals on a 162-game basis of 7.4 for Nomar to 5.8 for Oliva, the same gap that divided Nomar’s prime from Jeter.
Again, I’m not necessarily saying that Nomar belongs in the Hall of Fame. There are far more egregious examples of guys who have been overlooked unfairly. But, just like Rizzuto and Jennings and Jackson and Oliva all got a second look by the various iterations of the Veteran’s Committee, and eventually found themselves in the Hall of Fame 30 or 40 or 50 years after their careers ended, Nomar’s career deserves a similar second look.
His exceptional peak is worth being remembered for far more than his quirky rituals before each at-bat.