Boston Red Sox: Nomar Garciaparra’s epic run revisited

Flirting with .400

Nomar Garciappara definitely started trending downward in some offensive categories in 2000.  He failed to drive in 100 runs for the first time in his career.  He had his lowest number of home runs up to that point in his career with “only” 21. He seemed to have lost a step as well.

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After averaging 15 stolen bases in his previous three campaigns, Nomar only attempted seven steals and was caught twice. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t getting on base. He would eventually win the AL batting crown, hitting at a .372 clip. But the most impressive part about his 2000 season was that Nomar was flirting with a .400 average for most of the summer.

On July 14th, the Boston Red Sox had a Friday night inter-league matchup with the Mets. Nomar entered the game with a .391 average. He then went 4 for 4 that night, with a walk thrown in to boot. He hit two singles and two doubles to raise his average to a cool .400.

The prospect of a young Red Sox player hitting .400 for the first time since Ted Williams‘ infamous .406 season was the talk of the summer. Five games later against the Orioles, Nomar would fall a homer short of a cycle to raise his average to .403. This seemed like it might actually happen.

But after that rainy Thursday night showdown at Camden Yards Nomar hit .339 and fell 28 points short of a milestone. 2000 was arguably Nomar’s last great season as a Red Sox. He played in only 21 games in 2001, which ultimately proved to be a challenging part of his career.

What do you fans think? What was Nomar’s greatest season with the Boston Red Sox?